City of Murder
by BookOfFairyTales
Summary: Clary Fray is the newest Junior at St. Xavier's high school. But, surprise, surprise, this year isn't like all the others. A serial killer has started terrorizing the popular kids of the Circle, and it seems as though history from a hundred years ago will repeat itself. That is, until little Max was kidnapped. Now, the populars and unpopulars have one day to save him. But can they?
1. High School Musical

**Hey, all! So... basically, this is the first ever FanFiction that I've decided to write, so... big breath, and start on forward! Please review... because without that, I can never get better! Thanks!**

**A Disclaimer: Sadly, when I look in the mirror, I do not see Cassandra Clare. The Mortal Instruments belong to her and only her. And she definitely knows it because she tears our hearts out with every last word.**

**Also, a random side note: I just finished _Clockwork Princess_, and I doubt whether my heart will ever be whole again.**

**So, without further ado, my first ever fanfiction:**

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**Chapter One**

_Beep, beep, beep, bee-_ Clary Fray slapped her hand atop her annoying alarm clock to make it stop its whining. It's not that she hated the alarm clock per say, just what it represented:

School.

The most horrid thing of all.

And it wasn't just her first day of her junior year… it was the first day of her new school. Yes, her mother, Jocelyn, had moved her to a different town earlier that summer, and she hated it with a passion. A fiery burning passion that made her the most difficult person to live with.

Her mother chose not to notice.

Grudgingly, Clary got up, and changed into jeans and a light blue sweater. It was surprisingly cold for August, but what did she truly expect from New York? She'd never been there before, but she'd always thought that it was cold.

"Clary, get _up_, you're going to be late!" Her mother shouted up the stairs. "And Simon's already here!"

Clary smiled, almost to herself, as she thought of the one good thing about Idris, New York was the wonderful next-door-neighbor she had, Simon Lewis. He was nice, and sweet, and, kind of adorable. Like a mouse. Not to mention the fact that they had everything in common.

"Clary, come on, please! I do want to get to school on time, no matter how horrid that sounds!" He yelled up, shaking Clary out of her thinking trance. She grabbed her navy blue converse, and hurried down the stars, pausing only a moment to look at her reflection.

People had always told her that she looked like her mother, but she only saw the basics. They both had red hair. They both had green eyes. They were both lean. But the similarities stopped there. While Jocelyn's dark red curls were tamed, Clary's hair remained flaming tangles. Jocelyn's eyes looked like emeralds, while Clary's eyes looked like… well, she wasn't quite sure what they looked like, just that they were too large for her small, freckled face. And she was too short for her own good, at her large size of 5'1".

Finally, she made her way to the door, stopping only to hug her mother goodbye, before she hurried out the door to meet the curly brown-haired, glasses wearing nerd that had become her best friend. "Hey, Clary!" He greeted her, grinning, and opening up the passenger side door for her.

"Hi, Simon! Are you ready for school?" She asked her, sliding in, and shutting the door behind her. Simon rounded the corner of the car, and got into the driver's seat.

"Uhh, sure. Let's go with that," he said.

"And we're good too. Thanks for asking," Jordan Kyle, one of Simon's friends, called up to the front. Clary glanced behind her to see his muscled body half covered by his girlfriend, Maia Roberts. Next to them were Eric, Matt, and Kirk, members of Simon's band who couldn't quite manage to find a name.

Simon pulled into an empty parking space, and all of them got out. Clary nearly gasped in surprise at the building, a large, gothic-type structure with spindling stones weaving in and out of the ivy, which looked as though it had been painted on. Her hand itched for the sketchbook that currently rested in her messenger bag.

"Close your mouth, darling, you'll catch flies," a voice told her. She whirled around to find a tall Asian man with cat eyes staring at her, amused. "You must be new because I am quite sure that I know all the faces in St. Xavier's."

She recovered her ability to speak as quickly as she could, and managed to reply, "My name's Clary. Clary Fray. I'm a junior."

"Well, well, well, so am I! The name's Magnus Bane."

"Magnus," she repeated. "Nice name."

"Yes. We can't all be as blessed to have a normal name as Simon over there." He pointed to Simon, who was gesturing for Clary to hurry up. "You'd better catch up with him. Maybe I'll see you in a class of mine."

He left without a further word, strutting up the small path towards the front doors of the school, his pant shinning like diamonds in the sun. She finally caught up with Simon to hear him ask, "What were you doing talking to _Magnus_?" He said his name like it was a disease.

"Nothing, he just asked who I was. I'm new, I'm interesting. Why?"

"He's a member of the Circle, Clary. I'd stay away from him, and his kind if I were you."

"His… his _kind_? He's a person, just like you and me, Simon." They'd reached the front doors to the school new, and a feeling of anxiety settled in Clary's stomach. _There's no going back now_, she thought, and pushed herself on forward.

"No, he's not, Clary. You don't understand because you're new. He's a _popular_."

"So? I've been to school before, Simon, I know what it's like."

"No, this school is different!" He argued as they hurried to the bookstore. Once there, they had to pause their conversation (Magnus, in all his sparkliness, was there) until they managed to get a schedule and headed onto the second floor to find Clary's locker. Then he continued the conversation, lowering his voice, "Clary, this school is almost exactly like the one in that Disney movie… something about a musical? Yeah, well, it's almost exactly like that."

Clary rolled her eyes, trying the combo on her lock. "_High School Musical_?"

"Yes! That one!"

Clary bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. "So, basically, I can expect good food, five-minute dance numbers that are just magically choreographed, _and_ about ten minute passing periods."

"Clary, be serious-"

"Hey, Rat Boy!" A voice shouted down the hall. Clary looked up from her locker to see three people coming down the hall towards the fuming Simon. One of them, a tall, black-haired beauty was rolling her eyes to another one of them. He was gorgeous too, with black hair and the most vibrant blue eyes. But even he was nothing compared to the golden boy in the middle

Clary made her self turn back to her locker, but her mind kept straying to his _face_. Oh, how she wished to draw it. He'd make the perfect model! His blonde hair was a tad curly, ending just above his ears. And his _eyes_… like honey or amber or just plain gold…

"How's the nerd life treating you?" The golden boy was now leaning on the locker next to Clary and Simon. Clary felt a twinge of anger, and threw open her locker after finally managing to unlock it. It hit golden boy's face with a rewarding _thud_, and golden boy yelped a bit, jumping away from her locker.

"Sorry," Clary told him, giving him the death stare. But it was quite hard to do considering that he was a good head taller than her.

"And who are _you_?" He asked, looking her up and down, making her face turn red. "I'm Jace Herondale."

When Clary didn't answer (she was too busy trying to pretend to put her books in her locker), the black-haired girl said, "And I'm Isabelle Lightwood. This is my brother Alec."

Finally, when it could no longer be avoided, Clary stood up and said, "I'm Clary Fray."

"Simon, why are you hanging out with a freshman?" Jace smirked at the brown-haired boy.

"She's a junior," a voice said, coming up next to Alec. Clary nearly smiled when she saw Magnus. "And new. And Magnus-ificent."

"What's Magnus-ificent?" Clary asked, giving him a questioning look.

"Why, darling, it means that you are quite close to a perfect human being, such as myself?"

"Wouldn't that be Herondorable?" Jace asked Magnus, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Clary resisted the urge to smack the grin off of his face.

"No. But you, Jace, are horrendale."

With a scoff, Jace left, Isabelle and Alec rolling their eyes and walking after him. "You might wish to avoid them. They aren't the nicest bunch, you know," he told her, his cat eyes watching the populars leave.

"You're one of them," Simon said in a low voice.

"I left that group when they went crazy, Simon. I've actually been looking for new friends since my old ones ditched me." He looked at the both of them thoughtfully. "Yes, you two will do finely."

"We have friends," Simon replied uneasily, as if he couldn't believe that Magnus was offering friendship.

"None of them are me."

"My point exactly, Magnus."

Magnus sighed. "When do you have lunch? And do you have a study hall?"

Simon sighed too. "Lunch 5th period, and study hall 3rd period."

Clary looked at her schedule, and finally entered the conversation. "I have lunch 5th, and study hall 3rd." She grinned and looked up at Simon. "You didn't tell me that we had study hall and lunch together!

"By the Sparkle, so do I!" Magnus shouted before Simon could answer her.

"Umm…" Clary looked at Simon who just shook his head, exasperated. "What does 'by the Sparkle' mean?"

"In the Circle, they had a saying kind of like 'oh my God', but it was 'by the Angel', and I didn't really like that because I'm not that religious so I made it my own. "

Clary looked the metallic and rainbow clothed boy, and nodded her head slowly. "It does suit you."

Magnus grinned. "Yes, it does, doesn't it?" He turned to Simon. "What say you? Can I sit with the both of you at lunch and study hall?"

Simon looked at Magnus warily. "Fine, Magnus. We'll have a trial run today."

"Fabulous! See you later!" He yelled as he strutted away.

"I hope that I don't regret this," Simon muttered. Then he looked up at Clary. "I'll catch you later, Clary. And the conversation from before isn't over!"

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Jace Herondale rubbed his cheek angrily as he walked away from that girl – Clary Fray – and her locker. Not to mention Rat Boy. How'd he manage a girl like _her_?

"Jace, what are you _doing_?" Isabelle asked him, an eyebrow raised.

He yanked his hand from his face. "Nothing."

"By the Angel, that girl actually hurt you with her locker?"

"Drop it, Izzy," he told his adoptive sister, who just shrugged and went further down the hall to say hello to one of her past boyfriends, Meliorn. She was almost as bad as Jace himself with her dates. All shallow, self-centered, but pretty. All of them were pretty.

"Okay, Jace, spill. What's going on?" Alec asked, his eyes searching Jace's face worriedly.

"I'm _fine_, Alec. But… uh… how are you doing with the whole… Magnus thing?" For once, Jace seemed at a loss for words with his adoptive brother.

"What thing…?" Alec mumbled, his face turning a bit red. It had been clear to even Jace that Alec liked Magnus. And then, for no reason, Magnus had just left the Circle. He'd gone… well, apparently, he'd gone to Rat Boy and his short, little, red-head.

"Alec. Come on," Jace told him, walking up to his locker, and quickly unlocking it. "I know, Izzy knows, and I'm pretty sure that the rest of them know. Hell, Magnus probably kno-" Jace took one look at Alec's face and instantly regretted saying anything. "You know what? Never mind. I have to go see Kaelie before class starts." Kaelie was Jace's current girlfriend, and she certainly fit the criteria perfectly: she was shallow, _definitely_ self-centered, but, god, was she hot.

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Clary scribbled down her homework into her agenda as the bell sounded throughout the hallways. She hurried out of English, down the stairs, and into the cafeteria. She looked out over the heads in the room before she heard a voice behind her.

"Looking for Rat Boy?" She whirled around to find the gorgeous Jace Herondale staring down at her, smirking. "You really should pick better friends, you know."

For a few seconds, she was at a loss for words. He smirked even more, realizing this as well. Her face turned as red as her hair as she said, "Oh, like you? I'd take Simon over you any day."

He pressed his hand over his heart. "I'm wounded! You'd really take curly brown hair over wavy golden hair? I must say that I'm shocked, Clara."

Her embarrassment turned into rage. "Excuse me, it's _Clary_, with a 'y', not _Clara_. If you're really going to be a jerk, then why don't you find someone-"

"My own size?" He grinned at her.

"Oh, _ha ha_," she said, glaring at him. "A short joke." She held up her middle finger at him, as her eyes finally found Simon. "Go to hell, Jace." She turned and walked away, hurrying towards someone.

"See ya later, Clary!" He shouted, loud enough for the entire cafeteria to hear. Everyone turned their head to look at Clary as she walked fast, and with every step, she found herself cursing Jace and stupid blonde hair and his stupid golden eyes and his stupid handsome face and his stupid perfect body…

_Damn you, brain_, she thought, inwardly cursing _herself_ as she reached Simon's table and dropped into a seat. Magnus was watching her with one eyebrow raised while Simon looked… almost angry.

"What was that about?" Yup, he was definitely angry.

"Nothing, Jace was just being a dumbass," she muttered. "I told him to go to hell, and I flipped him off."

"Hmm," Magnus said thoughtfully. "I don't believe that Jace knows what to do when someone does that to him. Most girls swoon."

_Well I am definitely _not_ most girls_, she thought, mentally sighing as she wrote her name on top of her paper. _I truly hate you, Mr. Wayland, for assigning me this gigantic essay due tomorrow!_

"Hi!" A slender body sat down in the chair next to Clary. She, whoever she was, was quite pretty. She had blonde hair that had been streaked with green, and very pale skin. Her eyes were so blue that Clary doubted about the existence of pupils in her eyes. "Are you Clary?"

Simon and Magnus were both shaking their head towards her, but Clary wouldn't let them. "Yes. And you are?"

"Jace's _girlfriend_. So why don't you just back off, and leave him alone, understand? I don't want to see you, and I'm sure that he doesn't either." She smiled at Clary, but her eyes seemed to betray it.

"Really? Because he's the one that keeps talking to _me_," Clary said, glaring at the girl. And if looks could kill, then there wouldn't be any more problems, would there? But, sadly, she was mortal, and her death glare could not kill the dastardly girl in front of her.

"Back off, or I'll make you, you little bitch!" The girl growled at Clary, anger and annoyance flashing across her face, distorting her once pretty features.

"How? Will you blog about how mean I am? Throw a drink on me? You're nothing but a bully. And, besides, I wouldn't even _want_ that golden-haired jerk. You can have him."

"You think you need to give me permission? My throat is the one he shoves his tongue down!"

Clary made a face. "Girl, you need help."

"UUUGGGHHHHH! RED HEADED FREAK!" The girl shouted. She raised her hand as if to slap Clary, and Clary winced before the blow even came. But it didn't. Someone had grabbed her wrist.

"Don't waste your energy on _that_, Kaelie," a low voice said. Clary looked up at the figure, who looked… familiar, with almost _too_ black hair, and black eyes. Behind him was a white-blonde haired figure that looked almost the same as the first. _Probably brothers_, Clary thought.

She _humphed_, and got up, hurrying away with the two boys. "You know," Magnus said, a thoughtful look on his face, "I decided to sit with you because I wished to avoid _them_. I wonder if it was a bad decision."

"I told you this was like _High School Musical_," Simon muttered, avoiding Clary's glare.


	2. Impending Doom

**Quick A/N: In this chapter, I do mention the Infernal Devices characters, but as they are not real talking-to-the-other-characters, I don't really consider this a crossover.**

**A quick disclaimer: I do not own the wondrous thing called the Mortal Instruments series. I am not an adult who is famous for her very talented writing of books. I am only a freshman in high school. Need I say more?**

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**Chapter Two**

Jace Herondale hurried out of school. For once, he was avoiding his girlfriend. He just was too damn tired of her clinginess. He needed a day off. He quickly surveyed the lot in front of him, searching frantically for the familiar dark blue car that he rode to school in. He found in, and instantly felt a pang of anger. God, that girl was _sitting on his car_. Just sitting there, and obviously looking for him too. Only, he had no doubt that what she wanted was miles away from what he did.

He groaned, and threw his hood over his hair. Maybe, just maybe, he could make it out of there alive.

"You should really keep a leash on your girlfriend," a voice told him angrily. He looked down to see the redhead from before glaring at him.

_Ah, something to get my mind off of impending doom._ "Why, Shorty? Jealous?" He smirked at the shorter figure in front of him.

"No, but it bothers me when she tries to slap me."

A harder pang of anger hit his stomach and he involuntarily frowned. "She did _what_?"

"You didn't know? She almost did before some guys with white and black hair stopped her and said I wasn't worth the energy." Her face was flaming red with anger, and he smiled at her.

"Sebastian and Jonathon?" He asked. "Them two actually stopped her from slapping you?"

"Uggh, I should've known better than to think you would actually _care_. Look, jerk, just stop your girlfriend from hurting me, and we'll be fine. Oh, and don't talk to me, kapeesh? I have enough to worry about without _your idiocracy_ involved." She whirled around, and he could tell that she wanted to stomp off, but she didn't know where she was going.

"Need any help?" He asked dryly.

"What's the fastest way to the library?" She asked after a moment of hesitation. "I have an English paper to research."

"Uh… we have a library?" He raised an eyebrow at her, and she threw her arms up in frustration.

"Seriously? You're one of _those_ people? Look, just search it on your fancy phone or whatever, and I'll be out of here."

_That's it. The perfect escape. If I don't know where it is, then neither will Kaelie._ "I was just going there."

She looked surprised. "Really?" Her voice sounded a bit hopeful, and she must've realized it too because she then muttered, "I thought you didn't know that there was one."

"Of course I do. You just expected me not too." _Crap, Jace, what are you getting yourself into? Just tell the truth: you only have a general idea that it's in the town!_ "Come on, this way." He turned around, and headed in a general direction, his hands fumbling around in his pockets before they pulled out a sleek black phone. He typed in 'idris town library', and waited for results to come up. Meanwhile he crossed a couple of streets, Clary trailing behind him unsurely.

"Uh, Jace? Are you sure that you know where you're going?"

"Just give me a second!" He called back, scrolling through the links on Google. Finally, he found the one that he was looking for, and-

They were about a mile away from the school, two miles from the library. He groaned, and threw his phone on the ground.

"You don't know where you're going, do you?" Clary sighed, and bent down to pick up his phone. "I should've known."

"No, I… I know where I'm going, okay?" He was getting flustered. _Flustered_. Jace Herondale did _not _get flustered, and yet here he was, getting flustered. "Just shut it, and let me think."

"Maybe I should call Simon to pick me up-"

He yanked the phone out of her grasp. "No Rat Boy. I've got this, Shorty."

"I swear that I will slap you if you call me Shorty again."

"Okay, Red, maybe there's someone in that building over there that we can ask." _Just stall her, leave, call Izzy, and go home._

Clary made a face at the rundown building in sight. "I don't think anyone's been there for a while."

"Well, we should at least check, shouldn't we?"

"Yeah, sure…" She mumbled, watching the building with careful emerald eyes. "Let's go check."

"Come on, Red." He grabbed her hand, dragging her behind him. "I'll protect you if there's a demon or something in there."

"My hero," she said in a sarcastic tone. He glanced back at her, and grinned, noticing the way her face blushed a deep red.

They walked up to the door, and Jace raised his other hand to knock, but someone banged open the door before he did. However, when he called out a greeting, no one responded.

"Maybe we should, uh, get going back to school and I can just call someone-" Clary started, but Jace interrupted her.

"You're not scared, are you? Someone's just playing a joke on us." After a thought, he added, "Most likely on me. And I don't plan on letting them." He dropped her hand to open the door farther. Inside, there was a central room with various statues all along the walls. A good deal of cobwebs covered them, almost like clothing, even though most of them _were_ wearing clothes. There was one window at the back, but it only let in a single dot of sunshine. The curtains covering it were torn and ripped and stained. On the table, near the middle of the room, an ancient looking bag sat, with various random objects around it.

Jace, unnerved, took a step inside, hearing the wood creak beneath his shoe. He took another step, and ended up at the table. He picked up the bag, examining it, as Clary just stood in the doorway.

"Red, stop being scared. No one's here!" He told her, looking up at her worried face.

"I don't think we should be in here…" Clary murmured, but she walked up beside Jace, picking up a different object, a journal. She opened it up to the first page, and her eyes gently skimmed the reading. Jace opened up the bag and took out a badly damaged book. He couldn't make out the title, but when he opened it to the front cover, he could just barely make out a name: _William Herondale_. He nearly dropped the book in surprise. "Whoa, this book was my great-grandfather's!" Underneath the tiny printed name was a date. "And he had this in-"

"1913," Clary said absent-mindedly as she flipped through the pages of the book. "Some girl named Tessa wrote this is 1913." He brow furrowed as she zeroed in on one passage, and then she let out a squeak, dropping the book back on top of the table. "We should go, like leave. _Now_." Her words were all rushed, as she grabbed Jace's wrist, making him drop his book, and dragging him out the door.

She slammed the door behind them, and grabbed her phone out of her pocket, quickly dialing her mother's number.

"What's up with you, Red?" Jace asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Nothing, nothing, I'm completely- Oh, _hi_, Mom! I was just wondering if you could maybe pick me up because I got a little lost." Jace rolled his eyes, and Clary went all fake-perfect-daughter, though he didn't know whether she was or not. In all actuality, he wasn't quite sure of anything about her. "Oh, and I have someone else that might need a ride." Jace gave her his full attention, as she continued to talk. "To the library. Yeah, I have homework on the first day. _Mom, could you please just hurry_?" She quickly gave her mother their address then hung up.

"The library?" He asked, confused.

"Yes. That's where I need to go, and that's where you _said_ you needed to be, right?"

He paled a bit. "Uhh, yeah. Right."

She actually grinned. "I'm just kidding. I decided to go home and research on my laptop. My mom can take you home too. Did you really think I would go to a public place with you? I do value myself, you know."

"Well, what's _that_ supposed to mean? I'm a perfectly good person to hang out with!"

"Yes, well, that's a lie."

"I don't lie. It's the one thing that I never do." He thought back to a few moments ago. "What was in that girl's diary anyway? Why were you so freaked?"

"It's just… she started talking about something, and then she wrote, _It all started with the fake suicide_, and I got really creeped out, and… hey, look over there! It's my mother!" She pointed frantically to a blue Honda CRV that was slowly making its way towards them.

Clary practically jumped into the passenger side seat, and Jace leisurely made his way into the back seat, even though it was undeniably too small for his tall frame. He looked at Clary's mom and was surprised by how similar they looked.

When he knew that she wasn't looking, his gaze raked over her. For the entire day, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. And he wasn't sure at all why.

Her mother cleared her throat, and Jace looked up, his golden eyes meeting her dark emerald eyes, so like Clary's and yet so different. "I asked you what your name was."

"Oh, uh… Jace. Jace Herondale."

If he'd thought Clary's glare was bad, her mother's was ten times that. But she didn't say anything. She just drove, and only talked to Jace to ask him his address.

Finally, they made it to his house. "Walk him to the door, Clary," her mother said in a tight voice, and both teenagers gave her a worried look. Clary because she wanted to know what was up with her mom. Why was she acting weird? But Jace only truly wanted to know why her mother hated him. Most adults liked him! Well, if you didn't count the countless broken-hearted girls' families that had come after him over the years.

And he didn't.

Clary and Jace both got out of the car, and Clary grudgingly walked with him up the front steps. Jace pressed the doorbell having forgotten his keys earlier that day.

"I'm sorry about my mom. I don't know what got into her," Clary muttered, staring hopefully at the door. She wanted him gone, he realized.

"Yeah, well, it's fine," he said, a bit hostile. _What's gotten into you, Herondale?_

"Uhh, okay." He tried not to see how hurt she looked, while his mother threw open the door, planting a big, wet kiss on his cheek.

"Jace, you had us worried _sick_," his mother Celine Herondale said as she cradled her son close. "What happened-" Her voice faltered when her eyes moved to Clary's short figure on the porch. "Jocelyn?"

Clary shook her head slowly. "Uh, no. That's my mom, though…" She took a deep breath and held out her hand. "I'm Clary Fray."

"Fray…" his mother repeated before finally realizing that she was only alone in her thoughts. "Oh! I'm Jace's mother, Celine Herondale. It's nice to meet you." She plastered a fake smile on her face.

"Okaaaaay then. I have to get going. Thank you, Jace, for getting me lost, and I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she said unsurely.

He plastered on his own fake smile. "Mmhmm. And everyday afterwards."

Clary just shook her head, mumbling something to herself as she left, getting into the passenger seat, and driving off with her mother.

"Fray…" his mother repeated again, watching the blue car drive away.

"Mom? Something wrong?" Jace dropped his backpack on the floor as Celine closed the door behind her son.

"I don't want you hanging out with that girl," she said abruptly.

"What? Why? We're not even friends." His mother decided to only now care about his girlfri- no. Clary was _not_ his girlfriend. Why in hell would he even think that?!

"Then _why_ did you get a ride home with her?"

"Are… are you feeling okay, mom? You've never had anything against any of my other friends."

"Jonathon Christopher Herondale, answer the question."

"_Fine_. I was trying to avoid Kaelie, and-"

"Is that who's been calling all day?" His mother interjected, giving her son a disapproving look.

Jace inwardly groaned. _Of course_ she'd call his home phone. "Look, mom, we got lost going to the library, and she had to call her mom to come pick us up. If it makes you feel any better, I don't think she likes me either."

Celine's pretty face darkened for a moment before she nodded, another fake smile staying on her face. "Well, that's good then. And your father wanted to talk to you about the new school year, and your study habits, okay?"

Another inwardly groan. Every year began with the "I want to see 'A's, Jace. And only 'A's." Stupid high-expecting parents.

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Clary crossed her arms over her chest, trying hard not to let anger seep through her calm façade. Her mother had spent the last _half an hour _lecturing her about how Jace was no good and she shouldn't see him. At all. Which, considering her schedule, was not all that easy to do. But her mother wouldn't let her get a word in until finally, she ended with:

"He's from a bad family, Clarissa." Despite the fact that she used Clary's full name (which she did only when she was truly and utterly pissed off at her only daughter), Clary still found herself snapping back at her mother.

"Oh my god, that's _seriously_ your concluding argument," Clary said angrily, anger flashing across her eyes like lightning in a thunderstorm. "My English teacher would be so angry with you."

"Clarissa Fray, promise me that you won't ever see him again!"

"Mom, it's not like we're dating!" Clary threw up her hands, exasperated. "I don't even like the guy! He's a jerk!" But still… the thought of them dating…

_BRAIN, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, I WILL MURDER YOU!_ Clary thought madly at her brain, only to realize how stupid that was. She was seriously pathetic

"Promise me!" Her mother said.

"Fine! I promise! Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," she told her daughter. She then turned and grabbed her smock off of the counter. "Now, you have homework, and I have some paintings to finish."

Clary yanked her heavy backpack off of the floor, and stomped all the way to her room. She threw it open and took out all of her books, dropping them onto the desk in front of her. She went downstairs, grabbed the newly purchased bag of M&Ms, and poured them all into some small bowl on the counter. For a second, she remembered that she had wanted to talk to her mother about Celine Herondale thinking that Clary was her mother, but she could hear the pounding music coming from the painting room so she knew that she shouldn't bother her mother. Sighing, she ran up the stairs and into her room, pulling the door closed behind her. She set the bowl down, and looked down at her homework in disgust, only to find herself slapping her hand over her mouth.

Because on top of all of her textbooks, notebooks, and folders was a small leather-bound journal, its pages open to a certain passage:

_December 14, 1913_

_Dearest Journal,_

_I fear for my life. I fear that I will not live to adulthood. My wonderful friends… something is plaguing us. A murderer. My brother Nate, my friend Jessamine, my acquaintances Agatha and Thomas… they are all dead. And now it seems that Jem may be missing. I, along with my friends (Mortmain, Henry, Charlotte, Gideon, Gabriel, Sophie, Cecily, Cyril, Magnus and… Will), we are quite possibly the only chance that Jem has at survival. But without more clues that the ones we have received, how can we possibly succeed? If we do not, I fear the results. Not only will my beloved Jem be dead, but who might be next?_

_Until the next, if there is one,_

_Tessa Gray_

* * *

**Okay, another quick A/N: so you got a little past experiences in there. But (at least I hope) it begs questions as to why Jace and Clary's families hate each other? How did the diary get into her bag? How do the Herondales know Jocelyn?**

**Why was Jace offering to take Clary to the library? Why was the building abandoned?**

**Anyway, my dear readers, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as well. Is suspense building? Can you feel something bad happening?**

**And to those of you that might want a little more blood to be shed: don't worry, my sadistic ones (hahahaha, just kidding! That's coming from me, a girl who kills off characters in her other stories because she's having a bad day... so don't take it personally. Trust me) blood will be shed ****_real _****soon!**

**Until the next.**


	3. A Magnus-ificent Idea

**Hey! Sorry that I haven't updated in like a week, but high school is finally piling on the homework. Plus, you know, the fact that I'm being forced to take four honors classes (thank you, mother). But, I'm trying to write when I can, so hopefully, I'll get another post up this weekend. Thank you so much, dear readers, for... you know... reading and all.**

**DISCLAIMER: I am not, nor ever will be, the author of the Mortal Instruments series or any other series written by the wonderful Cassandra Clare. I do however, own the plot (at least, I'm pretty sure. If I accidentally copied someone else's ideas then... I'm sorry).**

**Anyway, here's chapter three!**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Clary stared the clock down as it slowly counted the seconds until the bell. Meanwhile, her science teacher continued her lecture, expecting people to listen. When the bell finally rung, everyone jumped out of their seats, ignoring the teacher's voice that shouted, "The bell doesn't dismiss you; I do!" _Yeah, right. Good luck with that_, Clary thought, hurrying down the stairs to her locker, where the one and only Magnus Bane awaited her presence.

"Finally!" He said, throwing his arms out wide, narrowly missing hitting a freshman. "Finally, you decide to greet me with your wondrous being of life!"

Clary sighed, opening her locker. "Magnus, school like _just_ got out. How are you all ready?" And then she asked, "And do you realize that you almost hit someone?"

"They're only a freshman. They're lucky that I didn't penny them or anything," he answered without skipping a beat. "And I used magic to get out of class."

Clary sighed again, shoving her bag full of books. "Magnus Bane, did you cut eighth period again?"

He scoffed at her. "What? I never-"

"Ah, so you did."

His shoulders shrugged, his universal sign for giving up. "But I can already sing _fine_! I don't need to go to choir class."

Clary laughed. "Well, that's kind of your fault for deciding to take it."

"I've been taking it since fourth grade. Colleges like someone who continues their studies."

"Colleges also like people who didn't get held back a year for _first grade_," she pointed out, alluding to Magnus's one and _only_ failure.

"Clarissa Fray, you do not understand the unimportance of math. Who cares if 1 + 1 actually equals 2?"

She laughed again. "No one cares about _that_. They just _know_." She closed her locker, and, together, they set off to Simon's locker. He was their chauffeur, a role he accepted with grace. And a role he accepted because there really wasn't any other option.

"It's stupid. That's what _I_ know," he muttered, twirling the ring on his finger, a habit he had whenever they got into uncomfortable topics.

_Better change the subject_. "Hey, did you hear about that new club opening up?"

He instantly perked up. "Of course I have, darling! It's all _anyone_ is talking about! Even the Circle is planning on attending."

The Circle. Which meant Jace. Which meant the perfect golden god that she'd taken up admiring from afar… _SERIOUSLY, BRAIN._

Instead, she steered away from the Jace conversation that she knew Magnus was plotting as he watched her carefully with his cat-like eyes. "How do you know the Circle is attending?"

Magnus shrugged. "I used to be a part of it. I know the lay out."

"Why'd you quit?" Clary asked softly, knowing that she was getting into dangerous territory. Many a member of their group had tried questioning the man, but he wouldn't have it.

"Clary-" he started warningly.

"I get it, I get it. Touchy subject." She waved her hand as if it wasn't a big deal. "In any case, are you planning on going?"

He paused in the hallway, tapping his chin with his finger. "Well, that depends, darling. If I had an entourage-"

"_No_," Clary told him. "I am _not_ going to a club where sluts and man-whores are going to be."

"Or, is it just a certain man-whore?"

"What man-whore?" Simon asked, walking up to them, confusion written plainly on his face.

Clary instantly turned red because she knew who Magnus was referring to. "Nothing, Simon." She flashed a look to Magnus that, when translated, read, _You'd better shut up if you value your life_. "We were talking about Pandemonium, that new club opening up in the center of town. Magnus wanted to have us as an entourage, and I was saying no-"

"I'm good with that," Simon interrupted. Clary nearly jumped with surprise.

"You _are_? Simon, I didn't think that you would-"

"Who else is going?" He asked Magnus eagerly. Maia and Jordan came up behind him, and Maia raised an eyebrow towards Clary, who just shrugged.

"Well, certain people that you usually hate are going." Something about his tone made Clary a bit on edge. What was going on, and why wasn't she a part of it? "And probably the whole school as well. It seems to be quite popular."

"I say that we go. I mean, why not?" He whirled around, pleading to the group with his eyes. He looked like a puppy trying to beg for table scraps.

"Simon-"

"Please, Clary. Please. Please. Ple-"

"_Fine_. Just… be quiet, okay?" Clary grumbled, giving him a deadly stare. He didn't truly see her; his mind was somewhere else, far away from the school. They all walked out of the school, and to Simon's car. Since he was zoning out so much, Magnus took the keys and drove them all to his house. Clary started to object (even though it was Friday, she still wanted to get _some_ homework done), but Magnus tossed her the keys.

"Go to your house or Maia's house or whatever, and get some party dresses. Not the fancy ones that you'd wear to prom, but-"

"More club-type ones," Maia interrupted. "I've got it, though I haven't got any of the dresses." Her face broke into a wide grin, and a feeling of anxiety hit Clary so hard that she nearly gasped. That didn't mean anything good, and she knew it. "But, we _could_ go shopping."

"BY THE SPARKLE, THAT IS SUCH A MAGNUS-IFICENT IDEA!" Magnus shouted, jumping in the air with glee. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a wallet, and handed the two a wad of dollar bills. Both of them gasped, never having seen _so much money_ in their entire lives. "Now, shoo! Go get some cute dresses, you two!"

Maia and Clary shared a look, but did as he said, Maia climbing into the front seat, and Clary jumping into the passenger seat.

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

"No. No. Magnus, _no_, I am _not_ wearing this in front of people!"

"But, darling! You look gorgeous!" Magnus whined.

Much as Clary wouldn't admit it, she actually did. Her usual cloud of red frizz had been turned into gorgeous curls that cascaded down her back. Magnus had done smoky-eye makeup around her eyes so that they looked like dark emeralds. Her dress was a mini black one that ended mid-thigh, and had spaghetti straps. Maia had forced her into tall black wedges so that she'd grown about three inches in a matter of seconds.

"Come _on_, Clary!" Maia added. "Just think of all the guys who will drool at the sight of you!"

Clary frowned, looking at herself in the mirror. "I still don't know…"

"Well, we're leaving now, so you don't have a choice." Magnus grabbed her arm before she could run away (as if she could actually _move_ in these heels!), and dragged her down the stairs and out the door to Simon's car. He stuffed her into the backseat, smooshed between Maia and Jordan (she was placed there to prevent a lot of the "cuddly" part of their honeymoon stage- it didn't work out so well). Simon was staring out of his window while Magnus drove them all to the club (he probably broke multiple driving/speeding laws to get there, though).

The club was gigantic. The building itself was brick, but the sign was a black, the letters curling up in a Gothic-font type way. The line to get in winded down the stairs and down the block. "See, guys? We won't even be able to get in." _Let's just please go home, _Clary thought, searching all of her friends' faces.

"Not a problem," Magnus said. He pulled out a VIP pass. "I know people who know people."

"Let's go already!" Simon jumped out of the car, bouncing around impatiently as Clary and the rest slowly got out. Simon immediately ran up to Magnus, and pulled him towards the entrance.

Maia and Jordan hurried up so that they were behind Simon and Magnus. Clary grudgingly followed, every step sending shooting pain up her legs. _Why heels, Maia? Why?_ Magnus flashed the card at the bouncer who nodded them all through into the mass of sweating teenage bodies.

"Magnus, I hate you!" Clary told him over the pounding beats of the music.

He grinned at her. "I know! And I'm okay with that!"

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Killers had to be patient, he told himself as he watched the newcomers intermingle with the crowd. They have to be stealthily waiting for the right chance to strike.

But waiting wasn't easy. He hated waited so long for his next. His eyes surveyed over the crowd, watching as they tried to act sexy and seductive, but only ended up making fools of themselves. But what did it matter? Someone had spiked the drinks. No one would remember.

No one but him.

Finally, he laid eyes upon a flash of red hair. He grinned to himself, taking his drink with him as he shoved his way towards her. The perfect target-

But then she was gone, dragged along by some other girl with curly brown hair and another dark haired and tan boy. He angrily crashed his drink to the floor, watching as the glass reflected his own face and the lights around him.

"Hey, watch it!" A voice yelled to him.

He swore at them, and watched them turn around and leave. Suddenly, hope sparked in his chest, and he could feel the cool metal of his gun at his ankle. Slowly he followed them out the back exit, reaching down to take his gun. He could still feel the metal, even through his glove.

They ended up in an alley, and he slammed the door behind him.

The person in front of him jerked, and whirled around. He watched the spark of recognition in their eyes as he grabbed their hand, shoving the gun in it. He shoved them back again the wall next to the dumpster, ignoring the pleas. He smirked as one special one caught his ears. He'd heard it all before. He laughed coolly as he aimed the gun at their head and pulled the trigger. A gunshot rang through the alley, and the person's dark eyes went dead as their body slumped against the wall. He could feel the slick red blood on his face, but he waited a moment till he wiped it off. Then he turned around, shoved on his jacket, and left to go change. It wouldn't do him any good if someone started to suspect him.

* * *

**ONE QUESTION: What are some classes that Juniors take, besides English and Art and stuff that every year has to? I'm kind of only a Freshman, and I have no idea what classes that Clary or Jace or anyone should take which is why I really only have one school scene. It would really help if you could tell me!**

**Also: just with that little blurp (is it called a blurp? I'm not sure, but oh well), who do you think the killer is? The victim? Do you even have an idea yet?**

**And: sorry for the short and late chapter!**

**Thank you for reading!**


	4. Red Ray of Sunshine

**Hey, just a note beforehand: you do get a reference to Tessa's journal in this chapter, even though Clary doesn't go right out and say, "OMG, IT'S LIKE TESSA'S JOURNAL", but it's still there, so... yeah.**

**Also: I'll try to update during the week, but my teachers may not be so kind as to lighten the work load, so we'll just have to see!**

**Aaaaaaand another note: sorry that this is so short, but I tried to do it while doing my bio homework. Never going to attempt that again.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Mortal Instruments or Infernal Devices. Just putting that out there.**

**SO ON WITH THE STORY! YOU FINALLY GET A HECK OF A LOT OF DRAMA IN THIS CHAPTER!**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Clary inwardly groaned for the fourth time in about ten minutes. She hated Magnus Bane with a burning passion like a supernova, and the next time she saw him, she was going to hurt him.

"You look like a red ray of sunshine," a voice told her. She inwardly groaned for the fifth time.

"What do you want, Jace?"

"Nothing. Just wondering why you looked like someone had run over your cat. Or you'd seen a duck."

She gave him a quizzical look. "What the hell are you babbling about?"

He sighed. "A red fucking ray of sunshine."

"If you must know, I just don't want to be here. I'd rather be at home-"

"Thinking about me?"

"No-"

"Dreaming about me?"

"_No_-"

"Talking about-"

"Jace, it has nothing to do with you!" She nearly shouted at him. He smirked at her, and she hated the fact that it made her knees feel like jelly.

"Oh, I'm sure that it does. It's near to impossible to never be on the subject of me."

"I assure you that it's entirely possible. Here, I'll show you." She got up and hurried away. She hated that she was in a sea of moving bodies, but it was better than being near-

"You can't escape me that easy, Red." She bumped into his muscular chest, and immediately bounced away, glaring at him. Butterflies were flying round her stomach, and she hated the way that they tried to make her realize her feeling for- Stupid butterflies. Always trying something new.

"Can you just leave me alone?" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Don't you have a girlfriend to go make out with?"

"Nah, we broke up."

Clary tried to stop the hope blooming in her chest. "Oh? Why?"

He moved closer, and bent down to whisper in her ear, "She just wasn't what I wanted." Clary shivered, blushing and was about to reply when Maia grabbed her arm and pulled her away, Jordan glaring at Jace over his shoulder.

"What was that for?" Clary pulled her arm away from Maia's grip.

"Clary, he's a bad guy-"  
"And I can handle myself!"

Maia pursed her lips, and was about to say something when Magnus came over and interrupted her. "I know him, Clary. He'll flirt with you, charm you, and then use you until he no longer needs you. Everyone in that group is like that." He spoke with such a dark tone that Clary nearly shivered again.

"Magnus, _what happened_? Why'd you leave?"

"Clary-" his tone was even more dark and threatening, but something gave her courage.

"Say it now, or I swear to whatever that I'll go right back and kiss him." _Please, Magnus, don't make me._

Magnus sighed, and glared at the girl, but soon said, "It's because of multiple reasons." He pulled her over to a booth, and sat her down. "First off, let me say that you cannot judge me because of what I say next, do you understand?" She nodded, a bit unnerved. "Well, I'm basically bi." This… well, it didn't really shock her, but she tried not to let it show. Was it stereotypical that she already had guessed because of… well, him? "My parents… they didn't approve. They kicked me out, so I went to stay with the Lightwoods for awhile. They acted like asses, except for Max, the youngest, and Alec. Well, Alec was okay most of the time, but towards the end…" He trailed off, a hurt look taking over his face. _Oh, Magnus_, she thought. "All throughout this time, I'd been earning money from a bunch of jobs that I'd been working, and so I left because I couldn't take it anymore-" His voice choked, but he forced himself to continue. "And over the summer, my friend Ragnor went missing and they didn't do anything. They did _nothing_ to help me look. I still haven't found him, even though I'm still looking."

"Magnus, I'm sorry," she said after a while. "I didn't realize-"

"Clary, Magnus!" Alec shouted. They both jumped, not used to him talking to them, and because they had just been talking about him. "I need your help! Jace is hitting Si-" He didn't finish before Clary had jumped up and was running (thank god she'd taken off her heels a few moments before) outside. She found Isabelle trying to break them apart, but Jace kept punching Simon. Clary screamed at him to stop, she tried grabbing his arm, but he was moving too fast for her to. "Grab something," Alec told her. "We have to use something to break them apart." She searched around, and then Alec instructed her to look by the dumpster.

She ran over there, throwing open the top, and gagging. She closed it, and looked around the left side for something. There was no way she was scrounging around in the dumpster, whether or not Simon was being… oh, shit. She really needed to straighten out her priorities. She ran around to the right side, and immediately screamed.

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Simon frowned, watching as Izzy danced round and round with some other guy. What was his name? _Does it even matter? _He thought darkly. Of course she wouldn't stay with him. The one kiss, that one date… they'd meant so much to him. But to her… they probably hadn't even mattered. She had tons of guys. He was just another one.

She said goodbye to whoever it was, and left out the back. He hurried after her, and found her starting to walk back towards the street.

"What the hell, Izzy?!" He shouted at her. She whirled around to face him.

"Simon." Her voice faltered, but even that didn't smooth any anger that he was feeling. He'd been through this too many goddamn times, and he was sick and tired of it.

"I at least thought that I meant _something_ to you! Was I just a game? Another heart that you Circle people decided would look good in your trophy case? I've had a crush on you for two years, Izzy, and you cannot just treat me like some loser who isn't even worth the time of day from your rich watch." God, he wasn't even making sense anymore.

"Simon, it's not like tha-"

"Then how's it like, huh? I'll be your secret while in public we're on two completely different platforms? Will you pretend that you don't know my name until after the lights around town have gone out? I'm not okay with that. I deserve to be treated better, whether or not you think I deserve _you_." He saw her flinch visibly, but he tried not to notice the tear that was starting to roll down her perfect cheek. "I thought that you were different from them, at least from the asshats that tease and bully me everyday, but you're not. You're not different from them, Iz… Isabelle."

She was crying. He felt horrible. But he'd said his bit. There was nothing more to say. At least, until Jace walked outside, saw Simon yelling at Isabelle and making her cry, and then added in his bit. Mainly, by punching Simon. Isabelle shrieked and shouted for him to stop, but he was a lot like a way overprotective brother.

And Simon let him hit him. He didn't want to fight it. He was perfectly fine to feel darkness creeping up on him, though he knew it wasn't death. Only sleep. For some reason, he hadn't been able to get any for a while now.

He saw Clary exit the club, Magnus trailing behind with Alec. She tried to get Jace to stop, but he didn't. And Simon was perfectly fine with that.

At least, until she screamed bloody murder. Then Jace dropped him, shocked more than anything. Someone helped him up, but he didn't see who. His eyes were on Clary and what she'd found.

It looked a lot like a dead body.

"Oh hell," someone breathed. "That can't be… but I just saw Sebastian in the club. He has to be… hey, dude, get up! It's not funny! Seriously!" By this time, Simon had realized that it was Alec speaking. He was walking over to the body when he finally realized that he was dead. "Oh, shit. Someone call 911." No one moved, least of all Clary. "SOMEONE CALL 911!"

Shaking, Magnus pulled out his glittery phone and called 911 while Simon, limping, made his way over to the trembling Clary, who had one hand over her mouth.

"Oh my god." She kept repeating that. He pulled her over towards the group, away from Sebastian's bloody corpse.

"Are you okay, Clare-bear?" He asked her softly. She shook her head, tears crowding her emerald eyes.

"It started with a suicide." Her voice would've sounded quiet and weak, but in that moment, when no one else was talking, it was as loud as her scream. _Silence is the loudest noise._

He gave her a confused look. "Clary? What do you mean?"

"Oh, shit." It was Jace, who looked just about as horrified as Clary, but for what reason, no one else knew. "No, no, that can't be right. Maybe school pressure just got to him…"

"Clary, what's going on?"

"I… I think a serial killer… a serial killer is coming…" She was paling visibly. For a second, Simon wondered if she would faint.

They started to hear the coming sirens of the police. Isabelle still had tears running down her face; Jace was seething but he was scared too, that much was clear; Magnus was horrified; Alec was downright traumatized; Clary was freaking out (for a good reason, too); and Simon was heartbroken and worried.

"Jace. I have the diary. Maybe we can stop this."

"What are you guys talking about?" Isabelle asked.

"Tomorrow, we're meeting up," Jace announced.

"Hell no! You were just beating up Simon, and then we found a dead body-" the sirens were getting closer now, much to Simon's relief "- so why the hell would we meet up-"

"Yeah," Clary interrupted. "Tomorrow. Back at the beginning."

Jace nodded. It seemed to Simon that he was interrupting a moment between the two, one that he desperately wanted to stop, but he couldn't voice anything. The pain was getting to be too much. At first, he hadn't noticed it, but now…

A police car pulled up, its lights blinding the six. "Tomorrow at ten," Clary added as someone got out of the truck shouting,

"My boy! My son! He's _dead_?!"

* * *

**So there you go. A dead body. A broken hearted Simon. A horrified Clary. A fighting Jace. A... you know what, I'm going to stop that before I get to far into all of that.**

**But, anyway, Simon and Izzy ****_do_**** have history. Jace and Clary are realizing what's going on (though, I will admit, they are making the guess a little far into the investigation, but it is a gigantic not-so coincidence). Magnus had his heart broken by Alec. And Maia and Jordan are still, um, themselves and their relationship (though they do get involved).**

**And thank you to AmberMariee, who so kindly reviewed the answer to my question about Juniors' classes! This investigation does carry on into school, so yeah.**

**I'd really appreciate it if you'd review, but I'm still going to be writing, even if you don't!**

**See ya later, my dear readers.**


	5. Missing You

_**WHAT! AN UPDATE ON A WEEKDAY! IT'S MADNESS!**_

**Not at all, dear readers! I just really hate actually doing work! So... be thankful I'm a procrastinator, I guess.**

**One small fact: Hodge is a teenager like the others, and he's in the Circle... so yeah. Just in case that got a bit confusing.**

**MINOR DISCLAIMER: I'm not actually a published artist with the name Cassandra Clare. Just thought I'd put that out there.**

_**AND OMG THANK YOU TO THE REVIEWERS! LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! MWAH!**_** (that was meant to be a kissy sound...)**

**So, onward with the drama! Even though this is more of a filler chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Clary took another sip of her ice cold water, relishing in the fact that it cleared her mind. Especially since her mother was coming over, attracting the attention of just about every person in the area, especially one cop who looked a lot like… _him_, and his brother Jonathon.

"Oh my poor baby," she said, wrapping her arms tightly around Clary, who fought the urge to cry. She felt so safe in her mother's arms. She didn't even care that it was in full view of everyone. "My poor, poor baby."

Clary took a deep breath before she spoke. She was entirely too close to tears. "Mom, I want to go home."

"That's where I plan on taking you." She stood up, and brought her daughter to her feet to. "And then I can question you on what in god's name you're wearing."

"Magnus and Maia made me," she said in a small voice. "Could… could they come too? And Jordan and Simon? Simon and Magnus have had rough nights, and I really want Maia there too, and Jordan's here also-"

"Sure, sure. That's fine," Jocelyn said, shocking Clary into silence. "Why don't you go tell them?" Clary realized that her mother was watching Jace's parents. "I have some business to attend to at the moment.

Clary wrapped her arms around herself tighter and walked over in short, little steps to where her friends – and the few Lightwoods with Jonathon – were sitting.

Simon's eye had turned black, and his split lip was bleeding again. Maia and Jordan were trying to console him while Magnus just glared out into the distance. Clary sat down between Simon and Magnus, and tried to ignore the fact that the Circle was close to them.

"How are you holding up?" Clary asked him. He just sighed. "Well, movie marathon at my house tonight. Maia, Jordan, Magnus, you guys in?" The three of them nodded, not even needing to check on their parents. "Simon?" He nodded slowly. All of them stood up, and started walking when a voice interrupted them.

"Still on for tomorrow?" It was Jace.

She turned around and nodded slowly. "Yeah."

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

"What are you doing back, Jocelyn?" Celine's whisper brought Jocelyn's gaze back to her. She'd been watching her daughter, so young and naïve, talk to Simon and her friends.

"I have business here."

"And what of the name change?" Stephen entered the conversation, his eyes watching Jocelyn carefully, as if he didn't trust her. "What of that?"

"I didn't want to be found by him."

"He's a good man, Jocelyn," Celine growled. "He's the reason I have Jace."

"He's the reason that I had twenty hospital visits in one year," she said confidently.

"You said that they were all accidents."

"I was young and scared."

"I want you and you brat of a daughter to stay away from our son. We don't need you influencing him."

Anger flared inside of Jocelyn, but she forced it down. "I didn't want him influencing her. Look where he got them. He beat up a boy who could barely defend himself. I think that you need to prioritize yourself and your family before judging others," she snarled at them.

She turned around, and stalked away, but a hand on her wrist stopped her. Her breath caught as she looked up into warm blue eyes. "Luke."

"Though I would've liked to hear that you were back," he told her, "I can understand why you wouldn't mention it." He smiled at her. "Don't take their comments to heart. From what I've heard of her, Clary is a wonderful girl."

"Th-thank you," she stuttered. Why was she acting like this? She was an _adult_ for goodness sakes. "She really is. You should come for dinner tomorrow night. I'd love to talk to you again." _By the Angel, what am I doing?_

"I may have to decline for tomorrow night. That was partner's son who died." He nodded over to a tall white blonde-haired man, and Jocelyn froze. Luke didn't notice, and he continued, "Valentine's been close to hanging himself that he didn't see Sebastian getting suicidal."

_Sebastian_. Memories swirled around her mind of the twin boys that she'd left when she left Valentine. Sebastian and Jonathon. She'd loved them more than anything, but she knew for a fact that Valentine wouldn't hurt them. When they'd woken up crying in the night, he'd hit her for their crying. He'd always wanted boys. The first time she got pregnant, she'd had a girl… She stopped her mind from going there. She didn't need to be reminded of that.

"People only notice what they want to," she said quietly.

Luke either didn't notice the meaning, or he didn't care. "No, I think that some people just get used to hiding things. But Valentine's been taking it really hard. It was his son after all." He turned back to her, and suddenly realized that this was her son too. "Oh, Jocelyn, I'm sorry-"

_I'm a horrible mother_. She tried to smile. "No, no, really. It's fine." Her voice faltered, and suddenly tears were springing to her eyes. _By the Angel, I need to get out of here._ "I should go. Clary might need a ride."

Luke pulled a business card out of his wallet and handed it to her. "Don't be a stranger. It was nice seeing you again, Jocelyn. I missed you."

Her breath caught again, but she managed to say, "I missed you too, Luke."

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Jace watched Jonathon carefully that night. Or, at least, he tried to. Most of his mind was drifting back to that scene and the intense hatred he'd felt for Ratboy, and hearing Clary's scream… and then, when she mentioned the diary…

"What did she mean?" Izzy asked suddenly. Jonathon, Hodge (yet another member, and Jonathon's best friend and adopted brother) and Alec looked up from the TV. Aline and Helen, two other members of the Circle, came into the room's doorway. "Jace? What did Clary mean?"

"Nothing. I just… I tried taking her to the library the first day she was here." Noticing their looks, he added, "Because I wanted to avoid Kaelie! God, I'm not interested in that." _Oh, that's a lie._ "And we found this abandoned building, and inside was a bunch of old stuff, and there was a diary from some girl named Tessa and a book from my like great grandfather. It seemed like nothing at the time, but, you know, after what happened…" he trailed off, watching their shocked reactions.

"Wow…" Alec said softly.

Jonathon stood up angrily, and Jace immediately regretted what he'd said. "Look," Jonathon said, struggling to keep his voice sounding calmer than he felt. "I don't want to face it but _my brother committed suicide_. My father called me last night and told me. There is nothing else to it-"

"Jonathon, we knew your brother almost as well as you did. There were no signs! Not even a suicide note! And where did he even get the gun-"

"I don't care, Jace! I don't want to know! I'm perfectly fine with knowing that my brother killed himself! I don't want to try and convince myself that there's a possibility that I didn't miss something about him! It's false hope, Jace, and I can't have that. I just can't." He ran out of the room, and seconds later, they heard a door slam.

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

"I'm just saying that Batman is the ultimate superhero because even if he doesn't have all his gadgets and money, he can still kick ass when fighting," Clary said. "I mean, come on. Superman without all his powers is just a guy, and Iron Man only has his suit and money."

"But Iron Man is an inventor! He can do whatever he wants if he makes it!" Maia argues, his head resting against Jordan's chest.

Simon sighed. "Can you all shut up? My head's hurting again, thanks to Clary's new boyfriend."

"_What_?" Clary shrieked. "What are you talking about, Simon?"

"You and Jace spending all that time-"

"Once. We have had one conversation where I didn't want to punch him all the time. And that was because I was too terrified to. Simon, I wouldn't date anyone that would hurt you!"

"So I can guess that Isabelle's off the list," he muttered, and Clary frowned.

"What did happen, Si?"

"Nothing, it's nothing. Let's just go to bed." With that, he ambled out of the room. Maia and Jordan soon followed, leaving Clary and Magnus alone.

"Do you know what happened?" She asked him.

He sighed. "Darling, if I knew, I would be over at the Lightwoods shouting my head off."

"Me too."

"And though I hate the Morgensterns…" he trailed off, his face changing from anger to sorrow in a split second. "No one should have to loose a child to that."

"I agree. But I still don't think it was suicide." She shuddered, as she turned her attention back to Hannah Montana. "You know, I really liked Hannah Montana, until she… you know… with the whole VMA debacle and everything has-"

"Gone to hell in a hand basket?"

She nodded. "What does that even mean anyway?"

"I don't know. Maybe that everything's all wrapped up nicely with a devilish bow so the devil welcomes you into hell and gives you a sweater with little devils knitted into it."

"A sweater? I thought hell was supposed to be hot."

"Oh no. It's quite freezing. But back to your Hannah Montana thing. Why'd you mention it?"

"I… I have no idea. I guess it's just that I thought Idris was pretty cool, but-"

"Let me guess, in your old town, they didn't find bodies."

She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. He let her. "No. It was normal."

"Darling, I've told you before and I'll tell you again: normal's boring."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't mind a boring life if it meant that I didn't have to deal with… with all of that… I just…" Tears were springing to her eyes again as she remembered those lifeless black eyes. "I'm going to bed, I need… I need some actual sleep…"

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

_Jocelyn ran down the hall, too scared to scream as she heard the angry shouts of Valentine follow her. Tears springing to her eyes, she locked herself in the bathroom, the only place where she could cry. She turned on the water, and splashed some onto her face. She had to do it. She couldn't live with this anymore._

_She laid the knife carefully on the counter when suddenly, something caught her eye. It was the pregnancy test that she'd started earlier. She'd forgotten about it when the boys started crying…_

_Gingerly, she picked it up. She gasped softly. She was pregnant. She was going to have another child._

_With Valentine._

_He'd be their father._

_They'd be forced to live with him._

_And he'd made it quite clear that Jocelyn was only around to take care of the boys, Jonathon and Sebastian. And as much as Jocelyn wanted to deny it… she had become to associate them with Valentine. They weren't her children anymore._

I'll make it right_, she thought, putting the test in the middle of the trash can, where it was least likely to be found. _Tonight, I'll make it right. For this child.

_That night, at 11:07 when Valentine was asleep, Jocelyn grabbed her last few hundred dollars that she'd kept hidden. She kissed her boys goodbye, and took just a lock of their hair, for it still pained her to think of herself as a monster that hated her own children. She hated what she was. But she had to leave. He'd notice if the boys were gone, but her… he wouldn't give a damn. And she knew that for a fact._

_She closed the door silently behind her, and started walking down the street, her free hand starting to rest on her stomach. "Jocelyn? What are you doing?" She whirled around, her emerald eyes finding Luke in the pale moonlight. "Why do you have an overnight bag with you?"_

_"I can't stay," she whispered, willing him to be quiet. Valentine was a light sleeper, and it had been a miracle to even get out of bed. "You have to understand that I can't stay with him. I'm leaving town, Luke. I'm going somewhere else, maybe California or France or somewhere else."_

_"But I thought you loved him. I thought you had friends and a life here. I thought that _we_ were friends." He sounded hurt, and Jocelyn hated that. For a second, she almost walked back into that house until she remembered the child that was slowly growing underneath where her hand rest._

_"We are, Luke. But this isn't just about us. There's more that I… I can't tell you." A light switched on in the house, and panic set in. "Please, please, if you valued us and our friendship at all… please don't tell him you saw me. I'll miss you, Luke!" She ran down the street as fast as she could, so fast and so focused on getting away from her husband that she didn't hear Luke reply:_

_"I love you, Jocelyn."_

* * *

**So, here, ya got some drama between the two groups and you get more of Jocelyn's backstory! (Sorry that she's kind of mean for leaving her kids, but I didn't really have any other idea, so I'm just going with that...)**

**Also, a side note: should I include about the kids' parents' drama, as well as the kids' drama? Or should I just stick with Clary and Jace and them, and not go that far into detail with Jocelyn and Luke and Valentine and them?**

**Thank you, dear readers! As always, I hope you will review, but I'm still going to keep writing, even if you don't!**

**Mwah, again, just because I'm super happy that I have readers that actually read and stuff and aren't my friends or parents that are just like, "oh yah, it's totally amazing. Especially between that one character when she talked to that other character, blah, blah, blah". So, thanks. Again.**


	6. Fries & a 9-mm

**Hey! So just a QUICK note: I may not be able to post this weekend because I'll be in Kansas for a Bat Mitzvah instead OF HOMECOMING. I AM MISSING HOMECOMING!**

**Not that I'm mad or anything.**

**Disclaimer: Still not Cassandra Clare!**

**So, here it is, dear readers!**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Clary tore the drawing out of sketchpad, and threw it to the ground, crumbling it. Why did she keep drawing _that_? Of all the things to draw…

She put her sketchpad back onto the counter, and stood up, sighing. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out some clothes. They were simple: dark wash denim jeans (no need for skinny jeans or jeggings because of how tiny she was), and a tee shirt that said, "I'm not short, I'm fun size". She ran a brush through her hair before realizing how truly unruly it was.

She heard a knock, then the doorbell ring. Her friends had left the hour before, so she hurried down the stairs, grabbing her converse and book bag (in which, sat the diary), and opening the door simultaneously. But standing on the porch wasn't Simon or Maia or anyone of her friends. It was some tall man with white-blonde hair and seemingly black eyes. He looked a lot like Jonathon and… she stopped herself from thinking the next name.

The man's face looked shocked at first, and then angry. "Excuse me," he nearly spat, "but is Jocelyn Fairchild here?"

"Fairchild? No, I'm sorry," Clary said slowly. _Who was this guy?_ "There's no one here by that name."

He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am quite sure," she said indignantly. "Now, if you will excuse me-"

He handed her a business card. "If you see her, tell her that her husband is looking for her."

He turned around and walked away, getting into a car and driving off. Clary glanced at the card in her hand:

_Valentine Morgenstern_

_Police Captain_

_That was Jonathan and Seb… that was their dad,_ she realized, a bit awed. But why did he say Jocelyn Fairchild, and not Fray? What was going on?

Just then, another car pulled up, and she heard Simon yell, "Fray! Come on!" Finally, she moved, shoving the business card into her pocket, and putting on her shoes.

After ten minutes of directions, they finally pulled up in front of the abandoned building. Trying to slow her racing heart, she took a deep breath, then walked inside the building. Inside, Jace, Alec, Isabelle, Aline, Helen, and Hodge stood, staring in disgust at the spider-webbed-walls. Maia, Jordan, Simon, and Magnus followed Clary in sitting in the chairs around the table. Totaled, there were sixteen chairs around the table, but they only took up approximately eleven of them.

"Jonathon's not coming," Jace announced as everyone just stared at each other. He gracefully fell into a chair next to Clary, who stiffened. "Just so you know."

"Uh, okay," she said, trying to act normally.

Isabelle sat daintily across from Simon, who noticeably ignored her. Alec sat in between Jace and Isabelle, watching them both with careful eyes. The rest of them just sat down wherever, though there was still a noticeable line in between the two groups as Clary tried to scoot farther away from Jace in order to gather her thoughts. What was with the golden boy and the way he screwed with her thoughts?

"So, what is this place?" Aline asked, her voice thick with barely hidden disgust. Clary nearly laughed.

"I don't know-"

"The Institute of Fine Arts and Dance," Magnus said. "And by the sparkle, isn't it just ravishing now?"

"That's a mouthful. Why not just call it the Institute?" Isabelle asked, shrugging.

"Uh, sure, I guess," Clary said, "but shouldn't we focus on, you know, the problem at hand?"

"But, guys, who says there was ever a problem?" Hodge questioned, looking at everyone. "Maybe Seb… maybe he did commit suicide."

Clary bit her lip. Of course she'd thought of that. It was what had kept her up all night. It was what had almost made her question going.

Until of course, she read a certain diary entry:

_November 11, 1913_

_Dearest Journal,_

_Today the unthinkable happened: I lost my brother Nathaniel. Nathaniel was found hanging from a wooden post. They say it was suicide, but I know my brother. He was not changing as people say that they do. He acted much the same, and I cannot believe that he would do this._

_Also, he left me a letter that he thought someone was trying to kill him. It said that he had done some things that he was not proud of, but that he still loved me and wished for the best in my life. I just wonder why he would not have told us sooner. Us being the Circle, the one that now includes me as well. Will seems certain that it was not a suicide, though Mortmain and Jessamine, the two who were closest to him besides me, they believe that it was, and that he had been getting more and more depressed, but I know that it was not that. I lived with him; he was my brother! I would have known, seeing as I had to take care of him day by day. In any case, the letter made me fear for my life, and I know that I should tell Will or Jem or Sophie or Charlotte or Henry about it, but how do you begin such a conversation? How do you tell people that your brother, who you thought was a hero, was no more than a common criminal by way of his actions? That until this letter was written, he had been completely fine with acting in such a way, and only when his life was threatened, did he truly act in an honorable way?_

_Until the next,_

_Tessa Gray_

"No," Clary argued, shaking her head at Hodge. "I didn't know Sebastian for long like you guys, but he didn't… aren't there signs or something for this type of thing?"

"People hide things, Clary. It happens. I just… this is a waste of time, and I've got to go check on Jonathon," Hodge said, glancing at her nervously, as if he was gauging her reaction.

"Then you can go. We're not forcing you to stay here."

Apparently, they weren't forcing most of them to stay there. Maia had a French project to get to, Aline and Helen had some other project together, and Jordan had to entertain his young cousins or something. When they all left, Isabelle, Alec, Jace, Simon, Magnus and Clary were all that remained.

"Though I'm not sure," Magnus had announced, "that I believe it was staged, I refuse to leave you, Clary. Because by the sparkle, you are a good friend." Out of the corner of her eye, she say Alec wince at that. _Ugghh, is everyone dating someone from the Circle?_

"Yeah, yeah, okay," she told him, and she put the diary on the table, along with her laptop and special Wi-Fi-everywhere thing. She pulled up Google Chrome and searched _Tessa Gray_. She brought up a picture of the newspaper page that held her obituary, and showed it to the others. "This is who wrote the diary."

_Theresa Gray (February 18, 1897 – December 14, 1997, age 100), best known as Tessa, is survived by her two children: James and Lily. Her husband, William Herondale, died years ago of cancer. Tessa was described as caring and loyal to those she loved, and very deadly to those she didn't. She, along with her husband, survived the mass murdering serial killer dubbed _The Magistrate_._

"The Magistrate? Where had I heard that before?" Alec questioned as he looked at the tiny screen in front of him.

Clary glanced around the table, her eyes staying on Magnus, whose face had just been turned hard as stone. Finally, he said in a rather uneasily calm voice, "He's who I told you took Ragnor."

All remaining three of the Circle looked up in shock.

"You needn't be surprised, seeing as I'm usually write, though people tend not to see it." His voice turned cold, instead of calm. "Ragnor told me that he'd been looking into a series of very cold cases that had yet to be solved. He wanted to look over the information. He'd told me that the Magistrate was the killer. And so when he disappeared, naturally I told you about that. Of course, you didn't listen, did you? And now Ragnor's probably dead, Sebastian's dead too, and who knows whose next?"

"Who knows if anyone's next?" Isabelle replied after glancing her brother's pained face. "Like Hodge said-"

"You guys just always stick together, don't you!" Simon interrupted. "None of you have individual selves! You're like communists! You're just a group and nothing else!"

"This is getting out of hand," Jace whispered in her ear. She shivered, despite the fact that they were in full view of everyone else.

"So what do we do?" She whispered back, determined not to allow him to affect her.

He frowned, watching them argue. "I dunno. Maybe we should go find a demon to fight!" He joked, and she remembered when she'd been scared to go in for the first time._ I'll protect you if there's a demon or something in there._

"Clary, I'm sorry, but I have to go," Simon said abruptly, getting up so fast that he nearly knocked over the table, and he succeeded in knocking over his chair. He ran out of the door, with Izzy getting up too to follow him.

"That boy needs help," Magnus muttered, leaving too. Alec and Jace shared a look before Jace said, "Yeah, you can go too."

"Such support," Jace said sarcastically.

"Maybe they are right," Clary said dejectedly. "Maybe this was a suicide."

"He didn't have the gun when we went, so where do you suppose he got it?"

"That's a good point. You can't just walk in to a McDonald's and order a gun instead of a happy meal."

"Would you like fries with that 9 millimeter?"

Clary laughed for just about six minutes straight. After the first few seconds, Jace joined in. It felt good to laugh, almost as if the laughter could lift her spirits.

After wiping a few laughter-tears from her green eyes, she calmed down. "Wow. I'm messed up," she murmured, trying not to laugh again.

"Yeah, well, if you're messed up, then what am I?"

_Perfect_, she thought as she watched him grab the diary. "What are you doing?"

He looked up at her, and raised an eyebrow. "I'm searching for clues. What else am I supposed to do?"

"Uh, well it is Saturday. Don't you have a new girlfriend to find?"

"No, I have answers to find. They may not believe that this was murder, but I… well, I do. Something about all of this just doesn't make sense. Especially because he was my friend since I was little, and I would've known, along with his twin brother, that something had been going on."

She nodded, as if she understood, but she didn't truly get it. She thought back to what Hodge had said. "But maybe it's not something that is easily seen-"

"Clary, I'm trying to help you, and yet you keep trying to send me away."

She crossed her arms over her chest, sighing, then she dragged the backpack from before and her laptop over to her. "Fine. Let's get started."

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

The killer watched the members leave the building, until he found the one he was looking for. The man, no, boy left the group, walking away angrily. As the killer drew closer, he heard words of swears and broken promises.

"What's wrong? Not enjoying your end of the deal?" The killer asked the boy, who jumped and whirled around.

"You never said that you were going to kill Sebastian! You said that you'd leave him alone!"

The killer waved his comment away. "None sense. I wouldn't make a promise that I couldn't keep."

"Are you kidding me?! That little redhead and Jace are _convinced_ that it wasn't a suicide, and may I remind you that it wasn't?"

Anxiety and panic started in his stomach, but he pushed them away. Emotions just made everything go to hell and back. "Why do they think so?"

"Because of some diary from the 1900s, but does it even matter? They're going to figure out that it was you, and then they're going to connect you to me, and then I'm going to jail-"

"Why does that concern me?"

Shock registered on the boy's features. "But… but you said I wouldn't get too involved-"

"Oh, come on. You believed that? I'm a murderer, you dumbass. Why trust a word I say?"

The boy realized what was going to happen next. He opened his mouth to scream as the killer brought out a knife and stabbed him in the heart. Once, twice, four times, eight times, twenty times, until he was sure that he was dead. That he wouldn't tell a soul.

Slowly, he backed away from the destroyed corpse before he walked back to it, and picked it up, putting it in the back of his car, underneath a tarp. He had to put the body away from anything that could point to him.

After hours of searched (he'd changed his clothes so that no one would see the blood), he finally found the perfect spot. He staged the body there, and threw a pail of water over it, to try and wash away any evidence. He searched the body for any hairs or anything that he could prevent from pointing towards him as the guilty party.

Finally, he left, driving away atop the cold ground that wouldn't keep his tire prints. _Such a sad occurrence_, he thought, _and he was just like family to me too._

* * *

**So there ya have it! The two groups can't even be in the same room!**

**And someone else is dead! And possibly Ragnor, too? Who knows? I still don't know who I'm going to end up killing off! (Though I know certain people who ****_should._****)**

**AND THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO REVIEWED! I LOVE YOU ALL! MWAH!**

**Any questions, comments or random things, you can review to me! But I'll still be writing even if you don't!**

**Until the next, dear readers!**


	7. Momma's Boy

**Hey, dear readers! I'm exhausted. 8 hour drive to MO + Bat Mitzvah in MO + 8 hour drive back = exhaustion. But, I did promise that I would post, and I hope you're all wondering who got killed...**

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own the Mortal Instruments characters.**

**So, without further ado, Chapter 7!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

_The girl was tall, with light brown hair and grey eyes. She was wearing a really fancy dress, but that wasn't what caught Clary's attention. It was the fact that she was bleeding to death. Next to her, Clary noticed a familiar corpse… Sebastian. But he was yelling at her, some name that she couldn't understand… no, he was yelling his own last name! Why was he doing that?_

_A figure turned to smile at Clary. It was a man, but he was hidden in the shadows. And when he did step out, his face was concealed by a mask. He grinned at her, coming towards her with a rope. "Time to die, dear," he said, his voice only consisting of a deep growl. "Everyone else has."_

"CLARY!" Clary jerked awake, her head flying off of the table. Jace looked at her, amused, with one eyebrow up. She checked her watch. It was 6:30. They'd been here for hours now.

"What do you want?" She growled at Jace, checking to see if she'd drooled.

"Well good afternoon to you too, Sleeping Beauty."

_He'd called her beautiful._ Some butterflies started flying around her stomach as she tried to focus on replying, "What is it, Jace?"

He shoved the diary under her nose. "I found something."

_November 14, 1913_

_Dearest Journal,_

_Another has died. Jessamine Lovelace, a friend, however unclose we were, was murdered today…_

Clary looked up. "What does this mean, exactly?"

Jace sighed, as if she was a little kid that didn't understand her parents saying "doctor" instead of "d-o-c-t-o-r". "Okay, well, Nathaniel, Tessa's brother, had two close friends: Mortmain and Jessamine. And this says that Jessamine died, so…"

"So what?"

"Chances are that they may've been murdered by the same person."

"And who's that person?"

"Oh my god, I didn't think you were an idiot." Clary silently fumed as Jace smirked. "Think about it."

"Maybe it was… Mortmain?" She asked after awhile.

He grinned at her. "And the last racehorse crosses the finish line!"

"How can we be sure? Does she ever say that?"

He shook his head. "No, I've read through it. She had her suspicions that he'd done it, but she never really goes right out and says it." He flips through some pages before reading, "'It has to be one of us. Only we would know the things that he does.'"

"So… where does that leave us?"

His phone buzzed on the table, and he sighed. "My mom wants me back. Sorry but I gotta go."

"Momma's boy?" Clary joked, and he rolled his eyes.

"Uh, sure. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Okay. About twelve?"

He nodded, and then started out before turning back, and asking, "Do you want a ride?"

_Oh, thank god. I was going to have to call my mom again_. "I guess so. I mean, if you're offering."

"That's kind of what I'm doing right now, genius."

She stood up, grabbing her book bag and stuffing the diary and her laptop into it. "Then let's go."

They got into his car, and he asked her where she lived. She told him, and he started the car, then left the building's area.

"So…" she said awkwardly.

"Speechless in front of my awesome beauty, Red?"

She rolled her eyes. "Mmhmm. That's it."

"I knew it." They were quiet for another moment until Jace turned on the radio. Some random techno song finished playing, and then a familiar tune came on.

"OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS SONG!" Clary exclaimed, reaching for the volume knob and turning it up about ten notches higher than it had been. "Grew up in a small town, and when the rain would fall down, I'd just stare out my window. Dreaming of what could be, and if I'd end up happy, I would pray! _I would pray!_ Trying hard to reach out, but when I tried to speak out, felt like no one could hear me! Wanted to belong here, but something felt so wrong here-"

"What is this?" Jace asked, sounding a bit disgusted.

"So, I'd pray," Clary sang ignoring him, "I could break-a-waaaaaaaaay! I'll spread my wings, and I'll learn how to fly. I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky! Now, make a wish, take a chance, make a change, and break away!"

Jace laughed. He couldn't help it. He was watching a short red head sing the lyrics of some song that seemed familiar, but that he hadn't heard for a while.

After a bit, he joined in. He didn't know most of the words, so he just sang the background music as Clary sang Kelly Clarkson's part.

When the announcer came back on after the song ended, he told the listeners, "That was '_Breakaway_' by Kelly Clarkson! Next up, '_Clarity_' by Zedd!"

"That was fun," Clary said, grinning.

Jace laughed again. "I wish that I'd had my camera app on."

"I'd have hit you if you'd videotaped that. Besides, you were singing too!"

"I have no self consciousness."

"Of course not," she muttered. All too soon, they pulled up into Clary's house's driveway. Clary could see the light in the kitchen, and she knew that her mother was home. "I guess that I'll see you Monday." She started to get out, but Jace grabbed her wrist.

"Wait, I should get your phone number. For this 'research project'." He put the air quotations in, and Clary suddenly felt her happiness melt away as she was reminded of the reason that they were hanging out.

"Right…" They switched phones, and inserted their numbers into each other's phones. Jace even took a picture of himself. Clary rolled her eyes at that. They got their right phones back, and Clary waved goodbye as she climbed the steps to her house. He drove away, and she opened the door to a horrifying sight.

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Jace turned down the radio as soon as Clary was out of the car. He laughed to himself as he drove home. _Oh, Red, you are hilarious._ He took the long way, just for fun and for procrastinating, and ended up encircling the town twice before he decided to head home. He pulled into his garage, and got out the car. Opening the door, he called, "I'm home, Mom!"

Celine came running down the stairs, and enveloped her son in a large hug. "Oh thank god."

He pulled back, and watched her with a worried expression. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Someone else is dead," she said in a soft voice.

His mind immediately turned to Clary, but he pushed that thought away. He'd just dropped her off. There was no way in hell that she was dead. "Who?"

Celine told him, and all the blood drained from his face.

"He was over last night…" Jace said in an emotionally dead voice. "Are they sure?"

"Yes, he had his wallet with him. It had his school ID in there…"

His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he didn't immediately move to grab it. "How?"

"Murdered," she told him simply. "It was murder."

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Clary gagged, a sound that alerted Jocelyn and Luke to the fact that they had company. Jocelyn hurried away from Luke, who was wiping off the lipstick that had ended up on his lips. (You can probably guess that they were kissing, and if not, they were.)

"Oh my god, Mom!" Clary exclaimed after almost throwing up.

"I can explain," Jocelyn said immediately.

Luke didn't waste anytime in introducing himself before Jocelyn could say anything more. He held out a hand to Clary and said, "Luke Garroway, homicide detective."

"What, were you investigating my mom's mouth?!"

"CLARY!" Jocelyn scolded, shocked. "DON'T BE RUDE!"

"THEN DON'T KISS STRANGE MEN IN THE KITCHEN!"

"I… CLARY, THAT IS NOT THE POINT. I'VE KNOWN LUKE FOR A WHILE-"

"THEN WHY DON'T I KNOW HIM?"

"BECAUSE WE JUST RECENTLY RECONNECTED-"

"YEAH, RECONNECTED YOUR-"

"IF YOU END THAT SENTENCE WITH THE WORD 'MOUTH', I SWEAR THAT BY THE ANGEL, I'LL-"

"Wait." Jocelyn raised an eyebrow at her daughter's confused look, trying to calm down. "Did you just say 'by the Angel'?"

"Yes?"

"Why?"

Jocelyn then realized the mistake she made. Of course that would be a Circle reference. "I… I've been spending some time with Luke, and I guess it just rubbed off on me."

"Uh… okay. How'd you two meet?" It was clear that Clary didn't trust the answer that Jocelyn had given, but she said nothing about it.

"Childhood friends," Luke said. "I've known your mom since we were both in kindergarten."

"So you have stories?" Clary asked, sounding interested.

Luke laughed, and was about to say something when his phone rang. He picked it up immediately and talked with someone on the other end until he hung up, his face looking a bit pale. "I really must go. I just got another job."

"Didn't you say you were a _homicide _detective?" Clary asked, realization dawning on her.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"So when you say you got another job…?"

He just nodded again, grabbing his jacket and heading for the door. "Someone's dead," he said simply, shutting the door before Clary could ask who.

Jocelyn covered her mouth with one hand, a concerned look crossing her face. "Oh god," she muttered. "Oh dear god."

Clary ran upstairs, and yanked her phone out of her pocket, dialing Jace's number before she could stop herself, or before her brain could catch up to her feet and hands.

After a few rings, he picked up, his voice sounding distant as he asked, "Hello?"

"Jace, someone else-"

"I know. My mom just told me."

_How'd she know?_ "Do you know who?"

"Yeah. And it fits with our thinking from before," he said slowly.

"The diary?" Clary asked. "Who just got killed?"

"Hodge Starkweather," Jace told her, his voice sounding empty. "And it was definitely murdered. My mom said that he was stabbed over twenty times."

Clary gasped. "That's…"

"Brutal? Yeah. I thought so too. They know it wasn't a mugging because he still had his wallet."

"So…"

"Someone's only got a couple more days to live."

"Unless we stop them," Clary said.

"We'll have to meet up soon. With everyone. We need everyone we can get for this."

"I'll call Simon, Maia, Jordan, and Magnus."

"I think Alec, Isabelle, Aline and Helen will be willing to help."

"What about Jonathon? I mean, these were his brothers. Only one by blood, but still."

Jace was silent for a bit, his voice sounding uneasy when he finally spoke. "Remember when I showed that passage to you? The one with mentioning Jessamine's death?" Clary said that she did. "Remember how I said that it pointed to Mortmain as the killer?"

"Yeah?"

"Well think about it. Who do these deaths point to as the killer?"

"But… oh my god."

"And who did Hodge say he was going to go and see?"

"Jonathon…"

"So we can't mention this to Jonathon. At all."

"I don't even talk to him, so… it should be fine. When should we meet up?"

"I have no idea. I don't have the car tomorrow because my parents are taking it out, so maybe we should meet at my house."

Despite the fact that they were talking about finding a serial killer, Clary felt something warm and pleasant in her stomach as he said that. _At his house! EEK!_ "When?"

"Early. My parents leave at 4 for the airport so maybe six?"

"Six?"

"The cleaning lady, that snitch, is at my house at 12."

"Okay. Six a.m. it is," she said softly. "See you then."

"Bye, Red. Goodnight."

"Night, Jace. And don't call me Red."

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

The killer ran his knife's flat side down the cheek of his whimpering victim. "Now, now, dear. It's way too late for good girls to be awake, isn't it?"

The girl tried to cry out again, but the tape around her mouth was too much.

"Do you know why I like using a knife?" He looked at the knife in his hands, then back up at the girl. "It's messy. But it doesn't blow everyone's brains out like a gun. That was _too_ messy. If I hadn't known how to clean up after myself, I might not be here right now. So you can thank the police department for that, can't you?" He ran the blade's sharp point across her forehead, and she squirmed even more, trying to screech against the silver tape while the blood dripped from the wound and into her eyes. "I'm sure that you're wondering why I'm doing this, aren't you?" Despite the fact that she was terrified, she nodded, keeping her eyes closed. "Because you have poor taste." She opened her eyes at that, the bottoms of them filled with tears. "You really should pick better rebound boyfriends." And with, he slit her neck.

He threw her into the back of her car, and then he drove as fast as he could before he came up to the high school. As always, it was unlocked, and he carried the bloody girl through the halls before he came onto the pool. "It's a good thing I know my way around the school, isn't it?" He asked her corpse before he tossed her into the pool. For a few seconds he watched the clear water become diluted with her red blood, but then he left. He laughed at the so-called security cameras in the halls. He, like every other person in the town, knew that they didn't work. Countless teenagers had gotten away with horrible things because they weren't on. The ones that had been caught had usually had someone tell on them, but by the Angel, if they did tell, they would soon learn the lesson not to. He'd given that lesson more than once.

* * *

**AND ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST! I must say, I freak myself out sometimes with the detail I put in the killer's perspective...**

**And Clary and Jace have a suspect! Do you agree? Were you surprised that Hodge bit the the dust, so to speak?**

**I also added in the little Clace moment in the car because I knew that more death and destruction was coming, and I wanted to make sure that there was a little somethin' somethin' before people start dying again.**

**AND JOCELYN AND LUKE. GOODNESS GRACIOUS.**

**Okay, I'm done. I'll stop wasting your time...**

**Please review!**

**Night, dear readers!**


	8. Criminal Minds

**GOOD MORNING/NIGHT DEAR READERS! DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ARE!**

**So, anyway, I'm pretty sure that I failed my bio vocabulary quiz, and my french quiz. I really need to change my study habits... Or, maybe, start studying...**

**In any case, the next chapter is up! And YES you do find out who was killed (though, originally, I was going to make y'all wait a bit longer, but oh well. I decided not to be an evil and cruel author that tears out hearts and kills what little hope we, readers, have that everything will turn out okay).**

**And a quick shoutout to those who have reviewed!**

**BooksBeforeLife****: Sorry for all the cliffhangers! It's basically the only thing I'm good at, so, haha, yeah... sorry!**

**AmberMariee****: Thanks for answering my question from before, and that's awesome that you might have guessed who the killer is! I'm hoping that it's not that hard to figure out, but still tough enough to be interesting!**

**ICameOnlyForClace****: Thank you so much for reviewing! I liked the idea of mixing the two too, and I'm so happy that it's good enough to wait for another chapter!**

**Guests that have reviewed****: Thank you for taking the time to review! Love you, anonymous people!**

**So, without further ado (though I must say that I only own the plot, not the characters, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...), I give you: CHAPTER EIGHT!**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Clary took a deep breath, and knocked on the large front door. The door swung open, and Jace was smiling down at her. "You look tired, Red."

She could feel Simon tense next to her and she noticed Isabelle standing behind Jace. "Yeah, well it is 6 a.m., you know."

He waved off her comment. "Come on in. Is anyone else coming?"

She stepped in, saying, "Magnus is. I texted both Maia and Jordan, but I have no idea if they are actually coming because they didn't actually respond." She finally looked away from Jace, and at his house, gasping. "This is where you _live_?!"

It was a large cathedral-mansion-Notre Dame-castle-like house, with a high pristinely white ceiling. There was a _chandelier_ hanging from the ceiling. On the walls were large, colorful paintings of parties and happiness. All of the furniture looked brand-new, and there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere.

"Yeah, why?" Jace asked.

"Maybe because it looks like a gigantic hotel?" Simon asked, trying to keep the glaring at a minimum. If not just for him, then for Clary as well.

Jace squinted his eyes, looking around his familiar house. "Really? I never thought that."

"Uh… Alec's in the kitchen," Isabelle said softly. "I was going to cook breakfast, but…"

Simon smiled. "You can't cook."

She smiled back, hope brimming in her chest before Jace coughed, and said, "Guys, we might want to get started. Are Aline or Helen coming?"

Isabelle looked to him, startled. "Uh, no. They didn't answer any of my calls, so I don't think they are."

They all walked into the kitchen, sitting down at the large round table in the middle of the room.

"So what do we know?" Jace asked all of them, as the door opened and a sparkly figure sauntered in.

"That I'm Magnus-ificent?"

"Not the time, Magnus," Simon told him.

"Sorry. It just had to be said."

Jace rolled his eyes, and cleared his throat. "Alright. So… what do we know about the _murders_?"

"Probably from the same killer," Clary spoke up.

Jace nodded. "And they were a day apart."

"One looked like a suicide, and the other was overkill on the murder."

"That's two completely different styles," Isabelle said. "And victimology would suggest that the culprit is a pedophile based on the fact that they were teenage boys. This killer is just getting started, guys. And he's escalating quickly. The next kill should be, well, soon and very brutal. I'd guess that this guy is doing this for attention. He's probably feeling alone and left out at home or in the work place." Everyone gave Isabelle a wide-eyed look, and she blushed, catching Simon's eye. "I watch a lot of '_Criminal Minds_' and other cop shows," she muttered, looking down at the table.

"That's… wow, that's actually pretty helpful. If it's correct, that is," Jace told her. "Guess it's a good thing that you're always glued to the television." During all this time, he had also been writing down what Isabelle had said, but he finished, and looked up. "What else?"

"It's following the diary," Clary said. "This killer obviously knows about it."

"But how? That place was undisturbed when we found it," Jace replied.

"I know. That's the thing that I don't understand! How would Jonathon know about it if you hadn't?"

"Wait," Alec said in a cold voice. "Are you implicating that _Jonathon_ had something to do with this?!"

"Based on the diary, it makes sense," Clary explained, sounding a bit less sure of herself. "If you read it, then it's plainly there on the page."

"Hell no. There's no way he's involved with this!" Alec shouted at her. She tensed, wide-eyed, as he continued his rant, "And you're basing this off of a _diary_! What if someone wrote it a couple years ago and then, hear this part, put it there as a practical joke! MAYBE IT'S JUST A COINCIDENCE!"

"Calm down, Alec!" Jace told him, grabbing his arm, and yanking him back down. "Just calm the fuck down. I was the person who first thought of him as a suspect."

"WHAT?!"

"Alec, listen-"

"He's been your friend since you were like _2_ and you guys were close, but then, suddenly, when Clary comes to town, that's all forgotten?" He gestured wildly to the small redhead, who was doing her best to try and hide. Simon grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed it.

"_Think_, Alec! He didn't want us investigating-"

"BECAUSE WE'RE NOT THE POLICE! LET THE POLICE DO THEIR WORK!"

"No."

Alec looked at his friend, astonished. "_What_?"

"I said no. We're involved whether we want to be or not, Alec. Remember? We're all family in the Circle."

"Oh _now_ you remember that. Well you can break that without me. I'm going to Jonathon to see if he needs help-"

Jace pounded his fist on the table, making everyone jump. Clary looked worriedly at Isabelle, who was caught in the middle, only to find that she'd hurried under the table and away from the two. Magnus was inspecting his nails, and Simon was shaking his head. "By the Angel, Alec! I told you about this because I wanted your _help_. You said that whenever I needed your help that you'd help me. Are you seriously breaking that promise _now_ of all times?"

"Jace, I'm not the one breaking the promise. You are. And I'll be damned if I allow a sneaky little redhead to weasel her way in and destroy everything that our friends and us have." He turned to his sister, turning red with anger. "Come on, Izzy. Let's go."

But Isabelle shook her head. "I'm not going, Alec. I may not believe that Jonathon did this, but that doesn't mean I don't want to find out who did."

He was struggling to keep his temper under control as he replied, "That's the police's work-"

"Yes, and they did such a great job last time," she said in a stony voice. "So you can go ahead, but I'm staying." She linked her arm with Clary's, who stiffened at the touch.

Alec shook his head at his sister. "By the Angel, Izzy, I can't believe you."

She shrugged. "Then don't. Right now, I don't really give a damn, Alec. I'll see you at home."

Alec gave her one last measured look before glancing at Jace. "I won't tell anyone, not even Jonathon, that you're doing this, but you'd better not involve me, understand?"

"Unless someone else dies."

Alec's jaw set in controlled anger, but he finally nodded. "Fine. But by the Angel, let's hope that that's not the case." He then left, the door vibrating afterwards because of how hard he slammed it.

Jace closed his eyes, and massaged his temples for a moment. "Okay," he said in a soft voice. "What's next?"

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Jace pulled up to the school parking lot, only to find police tap around the entire building. There was a crowd of people in front of it, and Jace hurried out of his car, his fingers already tapping Clary's number out onto his iPhone.

"Jace?" She asked, her voice having a startling effect on Jace's anxiousness.

"Clary, do you see the school right now?"

She didn't answer for a few moments. "Yeah. I do."

"What is it?"

"Jace, it's a who," she replied.

Anxiety settled in his stomach, mixing with the other emotions that had been hiding out in there. "Who is it then?"

He could tell that she was shaking her head. "I don't know. All Luke told me was that someone was found murdered in the school swimming pool."

"Oh god…" he muttered, surveying the crowd. "Where are you?"

"Sitting with Maia, Jordan, Magnus, and Simon in Simon's car. School's cancelled today, just so you know."

"I kinda figured. Where's Simon's car? I'm going to head over there. I'll grab Izzy and Alec on the way."

"Are you sure that that's a good idea?" She asked, her voice soft and quiet. "He seemed pretty angry yesterday."

"I don't think that's a problem today," he responded.

She told him, and he hung up. His phone rang a second before he pressed send on his text to Izzy. He answered it to hear, in fact, Izzy's voice tell him, "Alec and I are almost to your car. We need to talk."

"Fine, then we're heading to Simon's car." Izzy agreed, and Jace was left waiting for her.

Finally he say Alec and Izzy. He waved them over and was about to say something when Alec interrupted him. "I'm in. I don't give a damn about Clary anymore, okay? The police doesn't seem to be doing anything, and this needs to stop."

He called Clary when the crowd's noise got in the way of his talking to Alec and Izzy. "Meet us at the Institute," he told her. She agreed and Jace started up his car.

Thirty minutes later (teenagers do not react well to finding bodies in their swimming pools, and they tend to start crowds outside of said swimming pool which, in turn, does not react well to people in cars that have places to be), all seven of them were sitting around a table, quiet.

"Okay," Jace finally said. "This isn't helping."

"Maybe not helping _you_, but I'm perfectly happy being surrounded by people, whether or not they talk to me," Izzy said, shivering. But not from the cold. Instead, she shivered from the fear that she wouldn't dare talk about.

"I agree with Isabelle," Clary added. "I hate being alone."

"Call me Izzy. Isabelle's too formal for friends."

Clary was shocked. "We're friends?"

"…Aren't we?"

"Uh, sure."

"Enough with the small talk," Magnus said. "Tomorrow, I'll see if I can break into Ragnor's old place and get his files on the Magistrate. Maybe solving those other murders will help solve these ones." They all nodded; it seemed like a good plan (minus, of course, the law breaking part). "Alec, will you come? I might need some muscle." Alec, who was trying not to blush, nodded, letting his head fall and the hair hide his face.

"Clary and me can go over the diary again. There has to be more clues about it."

"I can try and get copies of the police files," Izzy said. "My dad is like an assistant to them, or something like that. I can pretend I'm interested in his work, and end up accidently taking pictures with my phone."

"I'll ask Luke too," Clary said. "And I can go over the diary."

"Jace should help you. He's a seriously fast reader. It's kind of freaky." Jace rolled his eyes at Izzy's comment and Clary tried to hide the glee that she was suddenly feeling. _I get to be alone with Jace! More than I already have been! WOOHOO! OH MY GOD, I AM SUCH A WEIRDO._

"I can ask about William Herondale. You know, considering he's my great-grandfather and everything." Jace wrote down the jobs already made, and then looked up. "What about you three?"

"I can go over the '_Criminal Minds_' type stuff. Maybe search for an episode with a killer like this one."

"I can help you!" Izzy shrieked loudly. Everyone gave her a look, and she quieted down. Then she said, in a much calmer voice, "Simon, it would be a pleasure to help you look at people solving brutal serial killer murders."

He was turning a bit red. "Uh, okay."

"And you two?" Jace gestured to Maia and Jordan. "What have you guys got?"

"What else is there?"

Jace tapped his lower lip with his pen, and then seemed to jump in his seat. "Jordan, doesn't your dad own that _Staples_ down the street?" He nodded. "Get some office supplies."

Jordan frowned. "Like what, exactly?"

"In '_Criminal Minds_' and the other cop shows, they have a white board plus markers, folders, a lot of writing utensils, magnets-"

"I'll get the basics," Jordan said. "But I don't know how quickly I'll be able to get them."

"Your parents love me," Maia told him. "I'm sure I could charm them into giving us the supplies."

"Alright guys. Friday, we'll meet back here. If you have any questions then text me or Clary." Jace nodded, looking around the group with careful eyes. "Guys, let's go catch a murder!" He was answered with a chorus of _AYE!_'s as everyone stood up.

Jace caught Clary's elbow before she could exit. "Seems like you and me will be spending quite the amount of time together, Red." He grinned at her before walking out of the building nonchalantly. Her heart contracted painfully in her stomach as she watched him go. _Good lord_, she thought. _What have I gotten myself into?_

Before she could ponder that any longer, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She answered it; it was Luke, with news about the body.

"GUYS!" She shouted loudly. Since everyone had been walking slowly, they all jumped and turned back to her. "IT WAS KAELIE! IT WAS KAELIE'S BODY IN THE POOL!"

* * *

**AND THERE YOU GO. I ANSWERED THE BURNING DESIRE YOU HAD TO KNOW WHO WAS DEAD. (Did any of you figure out that it was Kaelie?)**

**AAAAAAND ONE QUICK QUESTION: Is it bad that I want to start another fanfic at the same time that I'm writing this one? And it would be like a second generation thing (with Shadowhunters and all that jazz), but I don't know if I should... I WOULD APPRECIATE ADVICE IF YOU HAVE ANY TO GIVE! THANK YOU!**

**And also thank you for reading! Please review if you have any comments, answers, questions, etcetera!**


	9. Katniss the Butterfly

**OH MY GOODNESS, AN UPDATE THE DAY AFTER THE LAST ONE? WHAT? IT'S CRAZY!**

**Not at all! It's just procrastination!**

**THE DISCLAIMER IS THE SAME AS ALWAYS: I DO NOT OWN THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS CHARACTERS.**

**But, anyway, here's Chapter 9!**

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Jace watched Eric and Donna fight and laugh on the screen while he waited for his parents to come home. God, how he loved '_That 70s Show_'.

It had been two days since Kaelie's body was found, and he'd met with Red once on Tuesday. They'd looked over the diary and made notes on what things were happening during that time. Four people total had died before Jem had been taken, which meant that one more person was meant to die and another would be kidnapped.

Red had said that the last entry was the one where Tessa talked about going to find Jem. They'd left it at that, with him driving her home, and then driving himself home, where he was waiting because he still needed to ask questions about his family history. That was the part that he was dreading.

"JACE! WE'RE HOME!" He heard his mom call.

"FANTASTIC. I HAVE SOME FAMILY QUESTIONS TO ASK!"

He looked up to see his parents, barely looking disheveled from the flight, walk in. Celine gave him a yeah-right look. "What questions, sweetie?"

"What was my great-grandfather like?"

Celine stiffened, a look of astonishment crossing her face before her face smoothed over into a pleasant smile. "He was a lot like you are."

"Handsome and god-like?"  
"He might say so. But in any case, he died many years ago-"

"It's for a school project," Jace interrupted without thinking. He needed answers, and he didn't need his mother getting all defensive. "We have to write a story about an adventure one of our family members had."

"Then just write about the time I ended up on our roof with a bottle of vodka in my hands," Stephen said in cool voice.

"They have to be dead. And you're not."

"Why dead?"

"So… so we have to, uh, get more in tune with out writing abilities. I have to hear about their personalities and such so that I have to make up their thoughts."

"When he was ten, him and his friend James Carstairs feed ducks their own brethren."

"I knew that I didn't trust the little devils," Jace muttered. "But in any case, they have to be our age in the story."

Celine's lips formed a single line. "He fell in love."

"Yeah, maybe something I can relate to?"

"There's really nothing-"

"Why are you hiding things from me?"

"We're not-"

"The Magistrate?"

Both Celine and Stephen tensed up while Jace inwardly cursed himself. Goddammit, now they'd never let him out of the house again.

"What's the Magistrate?" Stephen asked, a million emotions running through those three words (technically four if there wasn't a contraction, but he wasn't a stickler for that type of thing).

"You know damn well."

"Don't swear at your father, Jace."

"You're keeping things from me."

"For your _protection_."

"Bullshit. How could something that happened 100 years ago affect me now? You just don't want to tell me for god knows what reason!"

"Upstairs now," Stephen growled. "You're grounded."

"Well whoop-dee-fucking-doo. I have no idea what I'll do."

"Phone, now." He walked up to his father and handed him the phone.

"Take it. I don't need it. What I do need, is a pair of honest parents."

"We have never lied to you."

"Keeping things from me counts as lying!"

"Why do you care? Like you said, Jace, it happened years ago-"

"MY FRIENDS ARE DYING. THEY'RE BEING MURDERED!" He shouted, his voice echoing off of the stainless, pearly-white walls. "AND I WANT ANSWERS. DAMN GOOD ANSWERS, BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE MY QUESTIONS ARE GETTING ANY!"

Celine had cringed during this, and Jace felt a moment of guilt before he pushed it away. "Then ask. But not about ancient history."

"Why don't you want me seeing Clary?" He asked before he could stop himself. The redhead's face pushed its way to the front of his thoughts, but he tried not to dwell on her.

Celine took a moment to compose herself. "We don't like her family."

"Who? Her mom? That lady's super nice, you know."

"She a liar who can't commit to anything."

"Why do you say that?"

"She left her husband, and her two children. She claimed all sorts of things, but nothing was ever proven. By the Angel, she even said that he hit her! She had no marks on her at all. Nothing. She ruined a perfectly good man's reputation for nothing. Not to mention that she just left her children alone, motherless. Jocelyn threw them away like they were garbage! She threw away her friends too. I knew her well, but she just left with no explanation!"

"She was a part of the Circle?"

"Jace, we don't want you with that girl because she is trouble-"

"Children shouldn't be blamed for their parents' mistakes!" He interrupted her. "Clary is one of the nicest people I know-"

"You have seen her!" His father yelled accusingly. "AND AFTER WE TOLD YOU NOT TO!"

"SINCE WHEN HAVE YOU CARED ABOUT WHO I SEE?" Stephen was about to answer, but Jace grabbed his car keys off of the table. "You know what? I don't give a damn. My backpack's in the car anyway, so I'll see you tomorrow if I decide to come home." His mother, looking a bit terrified, started to object but he glared at her. "I'll be grounded at someone else's house."

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Clary groaned, shutting off the television. She needed help with her stupid-comedies-addiction. It was really getting out of hand.

A knock interrupted her thoughts, and she jumped up, padding over to the door in her fluffy pink socks. She was acting lazy today. Her unruly curls were in a messy bun (if she could even still call it a bun), and she was wearing a sweatshirt over some old tank top. The sweatshirt had hello kitty's face on it (another failed gift from her mother that she still fit into after about five years), but it was super comfy. She'd finished off the look with large plaid red-pink-purple-yellow-orange pajama pants. She was really extra comfy, but she knew that she looked quite atrocious. Which is why, instead of immediately opening the door, she called out to see who was there.

"It's Baron Von Hotstuff."

Frowning, Clary threw open the door before nearly screaming in horror. "What are you _doing_ here?!"

Of course it was Jace. Of course only him would have the worst timing in the world.

"Hello kitty? Really?"

"Well I wasn't expecting company!" She snapped at him, her cheeks blushing red. He laughed at her, smirking.

"I guessed that." He started to shift on his feet awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was, uh, wondering if I could cash in a favor."

"What's this favor…?"

"I need a place to stay tonight because I may have angered my parents then run out and I'm pretty sure that if I went to any of my Circle friends, my parents would find me but they don't know where you live… so yeah."

Clary's face instantly paled. "You… you want to… sleep over at my house? Like a… like a slumber party?" _MAJOR MENTAL FACE PALM. WHY THE HELL DID I SAY THAT?! OF ALL THE THINGS TO SAY…_

He smirked at her, no longer looking awkward. "I would totally love the whole naked pillow fights thing-" her face burned red at that comment, and she hugged her arms around her what little she had of a chest "- but I'm afraid that I must decline. I just need a couch to sleep on and food in the morning." He paused for a moment. "And maybe some pajamas. Or I could just sleep in my boxers, but that might be awkward."

_Just in his… OH GOOD GOD, BRAIN. YOU ARE DISGUSTING._ "Uh… maybe my mom might have some things of Luke's…" _Probably, considering they've been getting really serious. _"Are you sure that you want to stay here?"

"I could always go to Rat Boy's."

She hesitated before opening the door wider. "Come on in," she sighed. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

He went in and immediately sat down on the couch. "Woman, I demand something to drink."

"Okay, all I said was that you could spend the night at my house. I said nothing about being your servant." She sat down a bit more daintily next to Jace (but only because that was all her couch allowed for), and grabbed the remote when she noticed him starting to grab for it. "There's a fridge in the kitchen if you want something to drink. I think we have pink lemonade."

He gave her a disgusted look. "_Pink_?! You're offering me something _pink_?!"

"Well yeah. It's basically all we have."

He made a face at her. "Manly men don't drink _pink _drinks."

"Oh, so what _do_ they drink then?"

He pondered on that for a while. Clary tried to shoo away the butterflies that were currently trying to go all _Hunger Games_ in her stomach at the moment. _NO, KATNISS. DO NOT SHOOT THAT ARROW OF FEELS FOR THE BOY SITTING NEXT TO ME AND SLEEPING OVER AT MY HOUSE! YOU ARE _NOT_ CUPID!_ "Something brown."

"Brown? Really? I would've thought you'd say something like, 'Black coffee, like my soul.' That's what I thought."

"But my soul's not black," he pointed out. Then he looked around. "So this is where the great Clary Fray lives, hmm?"

"I guess." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat before clicking on the television. "What do you want to watch?"

He grabbed the remote. "I have an idea."

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Two hours later, and Clary was shouting angrily at the television. "NO. NO. BAD MAN. DON'T YOU DARE. _DON'T YOU DARE_. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, YOU BAS-"

Jace laughed, grinning. "Why are you freaking out?"

"SHE'S ABOUT TO BE MARRIED, AND HE'S JUST LIKE, 'HEY, LET'S RUN AWAY TOGETHER', LIKE WHAT THE HECK IS WITH THAT!"

He turned off the television. "I think you need a break from '_How I Met Your Mother_'."

She glared at him, reaching for the remote. When he doesn't give it back, she swears at him in a perfect imitation of Lily's voice, "You son of a _beetch_!"

"And that's why I'm taking away the remote." A door opened, and he stiffened. "I don't suppose that your mom knows I'm here?"

Shock and fear ran through her veins as she shook her head. "My room's the second door on the right. Get out of here before she sees you!"

"Ashamed of-"

"_GO_!" He ran out of the room as a tall redheaded figure appeared.

"Whose car is in the driveway?"

"Oh, uh, the Kramers next door have a relative staying and they asked if they could park their car in our driveway. I said it was fine since we only have one other car…" _Please don't see through my lies_.

"Hmm. Okay," she said softly. "Well, there's a movie on-"

"Actually, I'm kinda tired. Could I just go to bed?" Jocelyn gave a measured look to her daughter, but finally nodded. Clary let out the breath she'd been holding in. "I'll see you in the morning, Mom. I love you."

"Love you too," she said softly, watching her daughter's retreating figure.

Once in her room, Clary searched around for Jace, but he didn't seem to be th-

"Boo!" He whispered in her ear. She shrieked, and her mom came running to the door.

"Clary? Clary! What's wrong?" She knocked on the door.

Clary glared at Jace, but threw open the door after shoving him into her closet. "Nothing, nothing! I saw a spider and I got really freaked out."

"You do know that you can tell me anything, right, sweetie?"

Clary nodded, willing her mother to go away. "Yeah, I know. I'll see you in the morning."

Jocelyn nodded, watching her daughter for a moment before she thankfully left.

Clary shut the door, and whirled on Jace. "Don't do that again!" She whispered at him.

He smirked at her. "Do what? A demon did that."

She groaned and then realized that she did not want to sleep in her sweater. And where was he going to sleep?

"So. Which side do you want?" He gestured to her bed, and her eyes widened.

"What?!" She tried her best not to shriek.

"Clary?" Her mom's voice filtered in through the door.

"Someone just killed of a character I loved!" She replied, still shocked.

"Who?"

"Oh, you know… Augustus. Hazel's boyfriend in _The Faults in Our Stars._ And just so you know, that book and I now have a feud going on! My future children and its future children will hate each other too!" She looked over at Jace, who was struggling not to laugh. "Shut it," she hissed at him.

Finally, after about an hour, her mother went to bed, and Clary allowed herself to breath.

"You never told me what side you wanted."

"Because you can go sleep on the couch now-"

"And what if your mom catches me?"

"Well, then… I don't know, but I'm sleeping in my bed."

He jumped on top of her sheets. "So am I."

Her cheeks were burning. "Fine, then… move over."

He did as she asked, smiling at her. "Thanks again for letting me stay, by the way."

She got another blanket, and draped it over herself. She could survive with her sweatshirt on for one night. "No problem, Jace. But you owe me."

He grinned at her. "I can think-"

"No. Just go to bed."

She turned off her lamp, and settled under the covers.

"Goodnight, Jace," she said softly after a few moments.

His fingers laced with hers, making her blush and very glad that he couldn't see her. "Goodnight, Clary."

* * *

**OMG CLACE MOMENT! AND AWKWARD HERONDALE FAMILY CONFRONTATION...**

**But, in any case, I have a test to study for, more characters to kill, and possibly another fanfiction to write? (If confused about last comment, check last chapter's author-rant)**

**And sorry that this is just a filler chapter, but I wanted to post a moment between Clary and Jace in order to set up other things (no... what is it? Lemons? I have no idea, but the most that's going to happen is a kiss. At most).**

**As always: questions, comments, etcetera can be posted as a review!**

**Love you all, my dear readers! Happy October by the way!**


	10. Bright Pink Smart Car

**SIZZY AND JAIA IN THIS CHAPTER. MALEC IN THE NEXT ONE.**

**Sorry it's so short. Biology test and math test and health test and french test... They've all taken their toll on my creativity.**

**DISCLAIMER: LOOK IN PAST CHAPTERS IF YOU MUST.**

**Also, check out my other fanfiction, ****_The Second City_**** if you want to! I would really appreciate that!**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Izzy fumed silently. Why wouldn't his prune juice coffee do its work already? She needed that file!

Robert licked his finger and turned the page slowly. Izzy's knee bounced up and down as she tried to focus on her surroundings to keep from screaming out in anger. She was _not _a patient person! And it was already Thursday! She couldn't wait for much longer!"

"Robert?" A tall woman with a tight blonde bun, no make up, and a dark grey suit jacket and dark grey skirt appeared in the doorway of Robert's office. "Phone call."

_Wake up call, lady. You really need a make over!_ Izzy thought before realizing that this was her chance. Her father got up slowly, rubbing his jaw, and ambling out of the room. As soon as he was gone, Izzy leapt for the files, searching through them, her dark eyes flashing with concentration. At long last, she found the files, and ran to the copying machine, willing it to work faster as the blinding white light screened over the sheet. She heard heels echoing down the hallway. _One folder down_, she thought, as she shoved the folder back onto the desk before grabbing the next one. She paused, stiffening as a figure walked past the doorway. Then she set back to work, scanning the next file. _Two down, one to go!_ Two pairs of footsteps paused outside the doorway, and she grabbed the last file, as she heard someone start kissing someone else.

She paused, even though the copier didn't. "Not now, Anna," her father's voice said. "My daughter's right in my office!"

"Then we can go to my office!" She pleaded. "Please, Robert. I never see you anymore!"

_Oh my god_. She set the last folder down on the desk, trembling. She shoved the printed pages into her large purse (which, for once, had an actual use), and stepped closer to the door.

"Anna, my _daughter_!"

After a few more seconds of kissy-sounds (during which, Izzy tried not to throw up and cry), "Anna" broke the kiss. "You said that you'd leave her!"

"But she got pregnant again, Anna-"

"So?! We could've raised Max together."

"But what about the other children?!"

"They'd have had their mother!"  
"YOU BITCH!" Izzy shouted, unable to contain anything anymore. "HOW DARE YOU!"

Anna, the tall blonde from before, jumped away from Robert, her face flushing. "Isabelle-"

"NO, DON'T YOU DARE!" Izzy screamed. "DON'T YOU DARE PRETEND YOU WERE JUST ABOUT TO LEAVE ME FATHERLESS. DON'T YOU DARE!"

"Isabelle Lightwood, don't yell-" Robert started.

"AND YOU!" Izzy turned on her father, her voice becoming strained. "HOW DARE _YOU_! HOW CAN YOU STAND THERE AND PRETEND THAT YOU GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ME? HOW CAN YOU SIT DOWN DURING DINNER WHEN YOU'RE OH-SO-READY TO LEAVE US! HOW CAN YOU EVEN DO THAT!"

"Isabelle, we'll talk about this at home-"

"LIKE HELL I'LL LET YOU COME HOME. I'M TELLING MOM!"

A panicked look overtook his face, and he reached out for his daughter, but she turned and sprinted out of the building.

She ran to the car, jumped in the front seat, and drove away, heading for home. She drove into her driveway, ran into the building, tears running down her face. Her mother, Maryse, looked up in shock as her daughter ran into the room.

"By the Angel," she breathed, getting up and wrapping her arms around her daughter.

"D-dad's ch-cheating on y-you!" Izzy cried. "H-he was going t-to leave y-you!"

"What?" Maryse gasped. She leaned back from her daughter. "What are you talking about?"

"I s-saw him k-kissing some Anna ch-chick in the hallway when I w-was at his w-work!"

"Annamarie Highsmith? His co-worker?" Maryse sounded appalled. But then she started to sound angry. "I am going to go talk to him, okay?"

_Oh, shit. What did I do?_ "Mom, maybe that's not-"

"Don't wait up. I don't know how long this argument will take," she growled, grabbing her car keys, and running out of the house.

Izzy broke down crying again, her breathing ragged and she pulled out her phone, dialing the first number that came to mind.

"C-can you come over? I-I need you right now."

"I'll be right there."

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

The minute she opened the door, Simon took in her appearance. Her eyes were puffy and red, tears had ruined her makeup, she was dressed in baggy sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and her hair was up in a messy bun.

And she still looked beautiful.

He enveloped her into his arms, and she welcomed him into her house, closing the door behind him.

"What happened?" He asked her.

"N-not right n-now, p-please," she sobbed.

He just nodded. "Okay."

"Okay," she whispered back, her body still being racked by violent sobs. He kissed the top of her head, and held her while she cried.

When she finally calmed down, he asked her what they should do.

"Can… can we watch a movie?"

"Sure, anything you want."

"Can we watch a Disney Princess movie?"

He was a bit taken aback, but he nodded, grinning. "Whatever you want."

"Can we watch The Little Mermaid?"

He laughed. "Sure. And we can even sing along."

She bit her lip, then smiled at him. "Thank you, Simon. I'm sorry for-"

"Just don't mention it, Izzy. It's fine right now."

Ten minutes later, and the popcorn was all popped and the movie was in the DVD player. "Ready?" Simon asked, his finger on the 'play' button on the remote.

Izzy nodded, smiling. "Ready."

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Jordan packed the last bit of supplies, and then closed the trunk, turning back to a smiling Maia. "God, this is one fantastic English project."

She laughed at that, coming to give him a small kiss on the mouth. He whirled her around so that her back was on the car. He kissed her whole-heartedly, and she kissed him back until finally she pushed him away a bit. "I'm sorry, Jordan, but a _parking lot_ isn't the place for a seduction," she told him, grinning ear to ear.

"Maia, I don't need to seduce you. I already have you." He kissed her nose, and then leaned back to smile at her.

She wrapped her arms around her neck and was about to kiss him when suddenly she noticed someone. "Oh! Follow me, Jordan. I have a plan."

She grabbed his wrist and ran over to the scarlet haired and blue eyed woman walking up to _Macy's_ and sniffling. "Excuse me? Miss? Miss!"

She turned and looked at Maia a little disapprovingly. But she still waited to talk to the girl, who wasn't even breathless from running half of the parking lot to get there. "Yes?" She asked in a dramatic voice, as if that question held all the answer."

"You're Seelie Queen, right? Kaelie's sister."

The girl nodded, and moaned, her lace handkerchief coming up to dab at her eyes. "Yes? What is it?"

_Oh dear god, a drama queen. _"My name is… uh, Camille Belcourt. And this is my boyfriend Raphael Santiago. We work for the, uh, civilian section of the police department – so we're _not_ cops – and we were wondering if we could ask you some questions about your sister."

She sniffled again. "I don't know, Miss Belcourt. My sister and I… we were very close, you see, and this talking might be too hard-"

"We'll give you ten bucks to talk to us," Jordan sighed, really wanting this over with.

She put her handkerchief away. "Well, for ten dollars, I will _surely_ talk to you."

"Okay, did your sister have any enemies?" Maia asked, trying to remember the one episode of '_Castle_' (a different cop show) that she'd forced herself to watch.

Seelie sighed. "Oh, of course she did. She was a mean person, therefore she had enemies. Lots of them in fact."

_Fantastic_, Maia thought. "Okay. How close was she to Sebastian Morgenstern and Hodge Starkweather?"

"Not that close. When she first got into the Circle, she told me _all_ about the people in it, but Sebastian and Hodge were never mentioned more than once. They didn't really know her, and she them, I suppose."

"Could you sister have been… _involved_ with one of them?" Jordan cut in.

Seelie looked horrified. "Oh, no. I have seen pictures of them and while they are good-looking, they are _not_ Kaelie-worthy." She paused. "Besides, she told me that she was involved in a scandalous relationship."

Maia exchanged a glance with Jordan. "Really?"

"Oh, yes. She told me that even while she was dating Jace, she really only wanted him and he told her that he wanted her too. So I guess they made love a few times or so, but she had recently started wanting more than what he would give."

"Do you know who?"

"No. My sister and I never discussed _relations_ not even when they were current."

"Any indication to whom it was?"

"She said that the man was close to Jace, which made the relationship even more scandalous."

"Okay, thank you for your time," Maia said, but Jordan wasn't finished.

"Where was your sister supposed to be this weekend?"

"Um… Well, Friday was a club-day. Saturday… she said that she was going over to a friend's house to grieve. She came back around 2:00. That's her car right there." Seelie pointed to a large red pickup truck.

"Really. Your sister drove a pickup truck."

"By the Angel, of course not! It hides the pink smart car. In any case, that's the car she drove. And on Sunday, she texted me saying that she wanted to go to a concert with friends, and I said alright because I had an audition at the theatre downtown."

"Would you mind if we took a look at the car?"

Seelie pursed her lips, looking between the two of them. "This way." She turned and strutted down the parking lot, making Maia grab Jordan's hand to protect _him_ from it.

Kaelie's car had, in fact, been a bright pink smart car. Seelie unlocked it, and Maia and Jordan got into the front seats.

"Okay…" Maia took a look around the car. "What can we tell from this?"

Jordan sniffed, then rolled down the window to call for Seelie. "Do you wear perfume?"

"No, no, that's my natural scent that you're smelling."

"Do you spray perfume in your car?"

"No. Must be leftover from Kaelie. I haven't noticed any odd smells." She walked away again, and Jordan rolled up the window so that they wouldn't be heard.

"With all the nose jobs, she's had, I wouldn't be surprised if she couldn't smell _anything_ anymore."

Maia snorted, and turned on the car. She pointed to the little touch-screen that was loading up, grinning. "She has a GPS."

"What does that mean?" Jordan asked.

"If she plugged in any coordinates-" she tapped the screen to get to 'Past Addresses' "- then we can find them." Only one address was listen. Maia typed it into her 'Notes', and then turned off the car. They both got out and handed the keys to Seelie. "Thank you so much, Miss Queen. You have been such help to the investigation."

Seelie took out her handkerchief again. "Thank _you_. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some heels to bargain for." They watched her go before taking out Jordan's 4G phone and typing in the address.

Jordan frowned. "It's a restaurant."

Maia took the phone to look at it. "It's a _fancy_ restaurant. There's no way that Jonathon or Kaelie could've paid for this."

"So either Jonathon has secret money or a partner-"

"-Or we've got the wrong guy."

* * *

**DRAMA. I THINK SO.**

**Reminder: Malec is next because I wanted to give it it's own chapter because there are startling reveals, I think, in that chapter, so just be patient! It'll probably be up around Saturday night because that's when I can write!**

**Love you all! Please review/follow/favorite if you like the story!**

**Have a fantastic Friday, dear readers! (Yes, I realize how corny that sounds. Seriously. I get it. Don't judge.)**


	11. Keep Calm & Carry On

**By the Angel, I seriously love you guys that review! It makes my day a whole lot better (especially since I had a Bio test yesterday, and a Geometry test today that was interrupted by a fire alarm!).**

**MALEC IN THIS CHAPTER. AND A SURPRISE! (Please don't hate me!)**

**But, seriously, should I include more about the 1973 (Jocelyn, Luke, Stephen, Celine, Maryse, Robert, Valentine, etc) Circle? More diary entries?**

**We're getting to the good stuff soon! (Not that all of it isn't good!)**

**And, please, check out my other fanfic, ****_The Second City_****, maybe? I'll still be writing this one, just so you know!**

**AND SORRY THAT THIS ONE IS A BIT SHORTER THAN THE OTHERS. IT IS STILL DRAMATIC, I PROMISE!**

**SO ONWARD!**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

"Alec, would you be a dear and break that window?" Magnus pointed to a high up window on the second floor of the blue building.

Horrified, Alec tried not to scream and run like a little girl away from there. "A-all the w-way up th-there?"

"By the Sparkle, are you still afraid of heights? I'd hoped that you'd gotten over that!"

"Well I haven't!" He snapped. "And you can't make me!"

"But, _Alexander_-"

"NO!"

"_Alexander_-"

"No!"

"_Please, _Alexander."

"No?"

"Pweety pweease wif chehwwies on top-" Magnus tried to say "pretty please with cherries on top" in a cutesy voice and Alec finally realized that he'd already lost the battle.

"Oh for the love of... Fine," Alec huffed, wishing that he had more of a backbone. "But you owe me."

"I'll find a way to make it up to you," Magnus said, winking at him. Alec blushed and turned away, trying to scale the house.

Finally, he made it to the second landing. He pulled on the window but it wouldn't open. It had a lock on the _outside. What a weird _person, Alec thought, surveying the window. Gritting his teeth, he took out the pocket knife that his father had given him. _You so owe me, Magnus._ He picked the lock on the window, opened it up, and slid into the room. He didn't start breathing regularly until his feet were firmly planted on the ground.

"Took you long enough," a voice behind him said.

Alec jumped and nearly screamed until he saw it was Magnus. "How are you already in here?!"

Magnus held up a small silver object. "I had a key."

"Then why the hell did you make me climb up here when you know I'm afraid of heights?!"

"You'll never get over a fear until you face it." Magnus shrugged. "Now come on, Alexander. We have work to do."

He walked down the stairs and hurried into the basement, Alec following him. He came upon a desk filled to the top with files.

"Here's his work," Magnus said, gesturing to the files.

"Surely it's not _all _of the work, right?"

"I don't know." Magnus picked up a file. "Hmm. This was is on Robert Lightwood."

"What?" Alec grabbed the file. "Why?"

Magnus shrugged, grabbing another file. "Luke Garroway." And another. "Jocelyn Fairchild." And another. "Valentine Morgenstern." And another. "Stephen Lightwood."

"Wait, these aren't from 1913."

"Darling, I realize that." He took those folders and piled them in Alec's arms. "Hold that, will you? I have more files to check."

After half an hour there, they'd concluded that Ragnor hadn't just been studying the Magistrate, but something that had happened in 1973. And then they noticed a hidden filing cabinet. They exchanged confused looks and opened it.

Inside were files about their own selves. Even Clary was included. It literally said on a file: Clary Fairchild.

"She said her last name was Fray," Alec growled, angry that he'd allowed himself to be fooled like that.

"She thought it was. Don't blame the children for the parent's actions."

"We should really tell them soon."

"Tomorrow's Friday, darling. We only have to wait a day."

Alec sighed, but grabbed the files all the same, bringing them out to their car. He sighed, and settled into the seat next to Magnus. "Where do we go now?"

"You should head home. Your parents wouldn't want you to be late for dinner."

"I do need to check on Max," Alec said, referring to his younger brother. Max was 11, but he looked younger, which was why Alec was so protective.

Magnus was about to reply when he heard a shout, and then a gun shot. Their heads whipped towards each other before Alec grabbed his knife and ran towards the source.

When he got to the injured person, he couldn't see any sign of the assailant. Valentine Morgenstern was lying on the ground, whimpering, blood pooling out from his shoulder. Magnus had come running up, and Alec turned to him, shouting at him to call the police.

Trying not to let his fear show, Magnus steadied his fingers while pressing the numbers.

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

It happened during study hall. Clary was sitting with Magnus, Simon, Maia, and Jordan. At the table relatively close to them, sat Jace, Izzy, Alec, Aline, Helen, and Jonathan.

At that moment, Maia was telling Clary about the restaurant, and how they'd gone there (used the same lie) and had been able to talk to the manager. Jonathan hadn't been the one to come in that day. But the man wouldn't say who, which led Maia and Jordan to believe that he was being paid off.

Clary turned and motioned for Jace to follow her to the water fountain. She told him about what she'd learned, and Jace listened patiently. He told her that they were ready to meet after school when the teacher came into the room. "Jace Herondale?"

Jace stepped out, everyone turning to the two of them.

"I'm going to need you to come with me," someone else said. It was a man, a rather _large_ man, wearing a police uniform. Next to him was Luke, who looked at Clary with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

"What? Why?" Jace asked.

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way," the large man growled, walking over to Jace and grabbing his left arm, turning him around. "Jonathon Christopher Herondale, you are hereby under arrest for the murders of Sebastian Morgenstern, Hodge Starkweather, and Kaelie Queen, and the attempted murder of Valentine Morgenstern-"

"WHAT?!" He shouted, struggling against the officer.

"You have the right to remain silent, anything that you say can and will be used against you in a court of law-"

"BUT I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

The officer continued reading him is Miranda Rights as he led Jace out of the room. His eyes found Clary's, almost startling her with the amount of worry that she could plainly see in their gold color. The minute he was out of the room, it was chaos. Magnus ran up to Clary, who still hadn't moved since the policemen had come into the room. He steered her out of the room. She could hear footsteps behind them, but she still didn't do anything. Someone put her into a car, and started driving. She still didn't move. They parked near the Institute, and Magnus grabbed her out of the car, carrying her into the building and dumping her on to a chair. She still didn't move.

Magnus slapped her, and shouted, "SNAP OUT OF IT, CLARY."

She jerked a bit and looked up, eyes wide as saucers. "Why… why do they think… why do they…?"

"I don't know, but we should figure out, shouldn't we?" She nodded. "SO STAY WITH US, OKAY. WE NEED YOU TO KEEP CALM."

"And carry on," Simon added, earning a bit of a smile from Clary. "Maia, Jordan, do you have the supplies?"

Jordan nodded, casting a worried look to Clary. "In the car. We also have some information."

"Okay, bring it in."

After ten minutes of setting it up, the group looked at the board. On the right side was a recently taken photo of the group, but it was cropped so that it focused on Jonathon's face. It was captioned "_Main Suspect_". Underneath that was a picture of Jace captioned "_Police's Suspect_". On the right side were the crime scene photos of the victims. There was a timeline of Kaelie's weekend, and after looking at the coroner's report, they found out that she'd been murdered early Sunday morning. Also listed were the fancy restaurant that they'd gone to and the fact that she'd had a "scandalous relationship".

But something still stuck out to Clary. "Didn't the policeman say something about Valentine Morgenstern?"

"Yeah." Alec looked a bit sheepish and guilty. "Magnus and I found him bleeding. The assailant had already run off, though."

"When?"

"Last night."

"Then Jace has an alibi!"

"No, he left his house a couple hours earlier. I heard his dad call my mom last afternoon. He ran away."

"Uh, yeah." Clary tried not to blush. "He came to my house, and slept over."

"Besides that being disturbing, it's unreliable. You're friends, and they know that. He was talking to you when they arrested him."

"Then I guess it's a good thing that I noticed him in my house," Jocelyn said, making everyone tense up, staring at the door. "The school told me that you'd ditched, and I knew that you'd come here, Clary."

"What? How!"

"You remind me a lot of me, that's all. I'm going to pretend that I don't know what you're doing here, but I know that I have to give an alibi because that boy isn't guilty." She glared at her daughter. "Whether or not I approve of your being 'friends' with him and sleeping in the same bed."

"WHAT?" Simon shouted, looking at Clary. Her face turned red, and she ignored her friend.

She gestured to her daughter, and then to Alec and Magnus. "You two were there, right? You can tell them how we know the time."

Magnus, Alec, and Clary exchanged looks, but followed her mom. _Don't worry, Jace, _Clary thought. _You'll only be a suspect for a bit longer._

* * *

**I seriously love Malec and Clace and Sizzy and Jaia, but I'm not quite sure how much will be in this, considering that it's, you know, about the murder and everything! But I swear on the Angel that I'll try to include a lot! As much as I can!**

**So what'd you guys think about ****_that_****?! Pretty awesome, huh? Huh? I think so. But, then again, this ****_is_**** my fanfic, so I guess I'm a bit biased towards it.**

**Until the next (murder?)!**


	12. Ungrateful Child & Neglectful Mother

**SORRY THAT IT'S SHORT BUT YOU FIND OUT THE KILLER HERE.**

**ALSO: SCHOOL SUCKS.**

**NOW READ! (DISCLAIMER SAME AS ALWAYS)**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Jace tried not to get angry for about the fifth time as Valentine accused him of attacking him. They'd already arrested him, why did they need to interrogate him?

"So you _have _no alibi!"

"I've mentioned this before," he told them in a calm voice. "I was asleep."

"Your parents said that you left that afternoon."

"To go to my friend's house."

"Oh, such a _sturdy_ alibi!"

"Detective Morgenstern, there are people here to see you-"

"I'M BUSY!" He roared, and the man, Luke, cringed.

"It's, uh… you see, she said that she needed to see you right away-"

"WHAT PART OF 'I'M BUSY' DO YOU NOT-" He stopped short when two red headed women, a black haired cat-eyed man, and a black haired blue-eyed man entered the room.

"Jace was at my house last night. He slept on our couch because he was mad at his parents. You cannot convince me of anything else, Valentine. I know that this boy is innocent," Jocelyn said, her green eyes watching him warily. Clary bit her lip, but then smiled comfortingly at Jace.

Valentine stood up, wincing a bit, and strode over to Jocelyn. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"I'm saying that you may have been traumatized by this experience and seen someone else than who it was actually."

"I know what I saw."

"And I know that Jace was at my house."

"Your family is built on lies. Your daughter told me that she didn't even know you," he growled at her.

Clary raised her chin up. "I told you that I didn't know a Jocelyn _Fairchild_ and I don't. My mother's name is Jocelyn Fray, Mr. Morgenstern. I apologize for any misunderstandings."

_God, Clary, you're an idiot, and I love you, but you can't just say that to a cop. It doesn't work that way._

_Wait. Hold on. LOVE?_

For a second, Jace tuned out of it, until he heard Luke say, "Jace, you're free to go. The Idris Town Police apologizes for the inconvinces that they caused." Jace stood up, and tried not to do a little dance as he walked out.

The minute they were in the car, Jace let out the breath he'd been holding, "Thank you, Ms. Fray-"

"I still don't like you, Jace, but I don't like your parents even more. You can stay at our house as long as you need to, and that goes for all of you." She turned around in her seat to glare at Jace, who was regretting his decision to talk at all. "But if you _ever_ sleep in my daughter's bed when she's there again, I will hit you. Maybe kill you. It depends on the day."

"You slept in her _bed_?" Alec hissed at Jace.

"Calm down, that's all we did."

"You can trust his word, Alec. I would've heard if they did anything," Jocelyn told him.

"Mom!" Clary shrieked, her face bright red. Even Jace looked appalled.

"I said that he could trust him." Jocelyn shrugged. "I don't see what the big deal is."

"You just...! You can't say that!"

"Why not?"

"My god, mother, this town has changed you! First, your sucking face with some random guy in the kitchen, and now _this_?!"

Now Jocelyn was shocked. "Clary! You cannot say that!"

"HYPOCRITE."

"UNGRATEFUL CHILD."

"NEGLECTFUL MOTHER."

"I love you, sweetie."

"Love you too, mom."

Jace, Alec, and Magnus watched this happen with wide eyes. Jocelyn and Clary laughed at this, which made the three even more weirded out. "What just happened?" Alec whisper to Magnus, who just shrugged.

Jocelyn dropped them off at the Institute. "I'll be back in two hours, Clary. Jace, you can stay another night, but on the couch." Jace just nodded, afraid to say anything to the scary redhead.

They all walked inside. Everyone was still there, staring angrily at the board. "NOTHING WORKS!" Izzy shouted angrily.

"What about if Jonathon had a partner?" Alec suggested.

"I'M TALKING ABOUT THE M.O., ALEC."

"The what?"

"Their means of operation, I think. It's basically how they work." She took a marker and pointed to the photo of Sebastian. "See, his murder was meant to look like a suicide." She wrote that down, then moved on to Hodge. "He was stabbed like twenty eight times. Big change, right? It's super violent and way more messy and bloody than the gunshot. The unsub changes his complete M.O. for this one." She then pointed to Kaelie. "But only her throat was slit, and she was bound beforehand. That's a huge jump in M.O. too. It's not as messy, which leads me to believe that all of these people meant different things to the unsub."

"Unsub?" Jace asked.

"Unidentified Suspect," Simon clarified. "The bad guy that we have yet to prove is Jonathon."

"Seelie said that her sister was involved in some scandalous relationship. And that that something was close to Jace, so it could've been Jonathon," Maia offered.

"I've got an idea," Clary said. They all turned to look at the short redhead. "Why don't we create like a profile, and not, even though it looks to be him, point our fingers directly at Jonathon? Like, why did he start killing basically a week ago? What made him… snap?"

Izzy grinned at Clary, despite the situation. "By the Angel, am I rubbing off on you? Next time, we're going shopping!" Izzy squealed while Clary looked like she was going to be sick.

"How about we focus for right now, and then you can go off and shop?" Alec suggested.

Izzy turned all serious and pointed to the seats. "Everyone sit. Let's review what we know, and see if we can make a profile off of that."

They all sat down, and looked at each other. Clary felt a bit… hopeless as she stared at the board. They were no closer to proving Jonathon than they had been before. Someone grabbed her hand under the table, and she looked up to see Jace smiling comfortingly at her. She smiled back, a little less enthusiastically, as Izzy began to talk:

"We have three victims, all killed in three consecutive days: Sebastian Morgenstern, Friday; Hodge Starkweather, Saturday; and Kaelie Queen, Sunday. Sebastian's murder was staged like a suicide; Hodge's murder was overkill and violent; and Kaelie's murder was simple," she began.

"Kaelie was having an affair with someone while she was dating Jace," Maia continued. "That someone was apparently close to Jace, and while she wanted to further their relationship, he didn't."

"The restaurant owner that we spoke to was scared of that person, but was quick to tell us that it wasn't Jonathon," Jordan said. "And it was an expensive restaurant, which means that it was readily accessible to a teenage boy who barely has enough money to buy his own crap, let alone a fancy dinner for two."

"Guys, we're forgetting about Valentine. He was stabbed, too," Alec said.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Clary gasped.

"I know who the killer is."

"What? Who!"

"It's Valentine. Valentine's the killer."

Alec looked confused. "But he was stabbed-"

"Does the killer seem like he'd leave a loose end? No, if the killer had attacked Valentine, Valentine would be dead, not accusing Jace."

"That's a fantastic theory, but how do you prove it?" Jace asked.

"Izzy, do you have your car?" Izzy nodded. "Everyone follow me."

They drove to the police station. Clary ran into it, Jace following suit. The rest of them had decided to wait in the car as a storm was brewing, and they thought that to many people in there would lower their chances of being heard. Not to mention the fact that Alec and Izzy ran the chance of seeing their father in there, and they didn't want to take the chance.

Clary ran up to Luke's desk. He looked up as he saw her, a grim expression on his face. "I know what you're about to say, Clary."

"No, I don't think you-"

"We already know that it's Valentine." Clary turned quickly to look at Jace. "But he's missing. He stepped out for a second, and then suddenly he's gone. That's when we figured it out."

"He's just… gone?" Clary's voice had gone quiet, and Jace grabbed her hand again. Not only to comfort her, but himself as well.

"No sign of him. He could be planning on taking a hostage right now. We have no idea what he's planning."

"Oh my god."

"By the Angel," Jace breathed. "A serial killer is out on the streets."

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

It was midnight. The trees outside case shadows down the darkened sidewalks. The wind was howling, and every so often, flashes of bright light were seen outside of his window.

He huddled underneath his blanket as rain pelted the window in a rhythmic pattern. He shivered as his window seemed to move underneath the weight of the wind.

A door opened. It took him a second to realize that it was his door. He looked up and saw a flash of silver.

"Come quietly, and I won't have to use this," Valentine growled. Max, who was trying not to cry, just nodded, and walked slowly to him, each step slower than the last. Before he reached Valentine, he grabbed his teddy bear, the one he hadn't used since he had been five. Why wouldn't anyone wake up? Why was no one helping him?

As they walked down the hall, Max looked earnestly into his siblings rooms, but they didn't wake up. Valentine opened up the front door once they got there, and Max walked through it. And then he ran.

But Valentine was stronger. He grabbed the boy and made a cut down his arm. The smaller boy whimpered, clutching his teddy bear to his arm.

"Don't do that again."

Max nodded.

"You're going to come with me."

Max nodded again.

"Not one word."

Max nodded a third time.

Valentine smiled. "Excellent."

* * *

**OMG POOR MAX. Okay, well, that's all I have to say.**

**SORRY THAT THIS TOOK SO LONG. I HAD WRITER'S BLOCK AND AN ENGLISH PROJECT THAT I HAVE YET TO DO.**

**Love you all, dear readers!**

**Until the next!**


	13. The Flip Phone

**I KNOW, I AM A HORRIBLE PERSON.**

**And a serious procrastinator.**

**And a sucky biologist.**

**Let's not get into that.**

**Basically, this chapter was so hard to write and everything, and I may have had no idea where I was going with this before, but I do now. And, trust me, you won't be mad for long!**

**I seriously hope.**

**Disclaimer: SAME AS ALWAYS. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW, THEN GO TO PAST CHAPTERS.**

**AND I'M SORRY. SOOOOOO VERYYYYYYY SORRYYYYYYY.**

**But pretty please don't be mad.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Have they-"

"No. Not yet."

_You're not crying, Izzy. You're stronger than that._

Ten minutes later. "Anything-"

"_No_, Isabelle. Not yet."

_Don't you dare let that tear fall!_

Another ten minutes. "Alec-"

"ISABELLE, I ONLY KNOW SO MUCH, AND YOU KNOW WHAT I KNOW!"

_By the Angel, I'm weak._ She tried to take a breath, to calm herself down, but nothing worked. In a matter of minutes, she was sobbing uncontrollable, her entire body shaking. Alec sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, but that didn't make anything better. It only made it worse.

"They're still looking," Alec whispered, his tone comforting though his words were anything but. "They could find a big break soon."

"They haven't." The siblings looked up to see Jace in the doorway. "They found another body. Barely alive, but still breathing."

Izzy's heart stopped. "Who?"

He shook his head, answering her unasked question. "A teenager. Clary just called to tell me that."

The three of them were silent for a few moments. "Has whoever it was told them anything?"

Jace shook his head. "Like I said, he was barely alive. They didn't think to question him before rushing him off to the emergency room. Clary said to call back in an hour or so."

He put his phone on the table in front of the siblings, and sat down across from them.

"So what now?"

"Now, we wait."

~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~TMI~

Magnus woke up abruptly when Clary tapped his shoulder. "Magnus, we should do something."

"No."

"This is useless-"

"I want to be here when he wakes up!"

From her sympathy-filled look, he could hear the unspoken reply to that sentence. _If he wakes up, Magnus. If._

"I need your help," she said instead. "There has to be something that we're missing."

"The police took our special murder board."

"So we don't use a murder board. We use the files."

"But-"

"Wasn't that what Ragnor was doing? Magnus, don't you think that when he wakes up, he would want to be farther along in his research? Not to mention aiding in the finding of a young kidnapped boy."

Magnus glanced at the bloodied form next to him, frowning. "Fine, Fray. I'll help you." Clary held out a hand, and Magnus yanked himself up with it. She walked out first, leaving Magnus alone with his friend. "I'll find 'im, Ragnor. Don't you worry."

Magnus drove to the Institute. When they got there, Simon was waiting for the both of them in front of the now-familiar place. He waved solemnly at them, and they all hurried into the Institute, sitting down at the round table in the center of the room. Clary took out the diary and placed it on the table, in the center. Simon grabbed the boxes of files, and placed them off to the side, but still on the table.

"We know from Ragnor's research," Clary started, "that all three serial killings are kind of related."

"1913." Simon placed a small file in front of Clary. "1973." He placed a larger file in front of Magnus. "2013." He held up the final and largest file.

"So what exactly is similar?" Magnus asked.

Clary pointed at Simon's file, then at her own. "We have the most similar ones."

Magnus nodded. "Okay, so let's start there. What's the biggest similarity?"

"Number of people, the kidnapping, the new student coming to town, the mixing of Circle and nonpopulars…" Clary trailed off. "The only thing… in 1913, Tessa Gray thought that Mortmain, a member of the Circle, was at fault for the crimes, and we know for sure that it's Valentine now."

"Jonathon could be involved."

"They cleared him though. And Sebastian was his _twin_. Could he really kill his own twin brother?"

Simon shrugged. "I don't know. I barely know the guy. Hell, before this, I thought they were named Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum."

Clary glared at Simon, her emerald eyes flashing with unspoken anger. "Simon, will you stop with the jokes? We need to focus."

"Okay, well, why don't we try and connect him to the case?" Magnus asked gently, trying to get them to stop fighting. He did not need this. Not now. Not ever.

"How? His alibis all cleared."

"I don't know. Why… why don't we look at the 1973 murders?"

Magnus opened up his folder and took out crime scene photos. "Amatis Garroway, shot. Michael Wayland, slit throat. And… Amalia Morgenstern, stabbed. She was only ten," he said in a horrified voice. He looked up, his face pale. "You don't think…"

"He _killed_ his ten year old sister?!" Clary's heart stopped for a moment, her bottom lip trembling. She was looking at the student I.D. photo for Amalia Morgenstern. She had long white-blonde hair like Valentine and his children, but her eyes were a light brown instead of the black that Valentine's were.

Magnus flipped farther through the folder. "Uh… Clary?" She looked at the thing he was looking at. "He… didn't just… didn't just stab her…"

Clary glanced at the picture and immediately recoiled. She clapped her hand over her mouth, her wide eyes looking shockingly at the black-and-white photo of the bloodied girl. There was a dark hole in her white blouse that had been pulled up a bit so that her stomach was bare, and her skirt had dark splotches on it too. There were long cuts along both sides of her jaw, and along her arms and legs. Etched into her stomach was the word "sorry". Underneath her body, written in block-letter script with pebbles, were the words, "_I had to. He made me._"

"Wait, who made him?" Clary asked, pushing the picture away. She couldn't bear to look at it any longer. "And why didn't the police get Valentine?"

"He had an alibi. His dad was teaching him how to play poker or some card game." Magnus showed her the report.

"Who else would say that?" Simon asked. "Who else, honestly, did they think would write that?!"

"It was obviously Valentine," Clary said. "He wrote 'Mom', as if to their shared Mom. I just don't know who would make him-"

"_I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie wo-_"

Simon grabbed his cell phone, his face heating up as he answered, "Hey, Iz, how are you holding up?"

"Th-they still ha-haven't f-found him!" Her sobs were easily heard through the phone. Clary and Magnus looked towards the walls, trying to pretend that they couldn't hear. His heart broke as she added, "I've b-been g-going through his cl-clothes a-and stuff, a-and I f-found this t-toy that I b-bought him when he… when he was six-"

"I'll be right over, Iz," he promised, looking up to meet his friends' eyes. _Sorry_, he mouthed, but Clary shook her head.

"Th-thank you!" She cried. They said goodbye, and then hung up.

"Go to Isabelle," Clary said softly. "We'll call you if we think of anything."

In the next moment, he was gone, leaving Magnus and Clary in the room.

"What if his dad made him do it?"

"What was his dad's name?" Clary replied, searching through the modern day file while Magnus searched through

"Jonathon Sebastian Morgenstern." He looked up at her. "Coincidence?"

"I think not," she finished, frowning, and trying to get the girl's body out of her mind. "Is he still alive?"

Magnus shrugged. "I don't kn-"

"_G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S, yeah G-L-A-_"

"I think that your phone's ringing, Magnus," Clary said, sighing.

"Oh, right." He clicked the answer button, and held it up to his ear. "This is the Most Magnus-ificent Student of St. Xavier's High School-"

"Magnus, I need you."

"I'll be right there, Alec." He clicked the 'end call' button, and looked apologetically at Clary. "Sorry, sweets. He-"

"Just go," she snapped. "I can figure this out myself!"

He disappeared too, leaving Clary alone with her thoughts. She put her phone on the table, almost willing Jace to call. But when ten minutes had passed, she realized that he never would.

_He's probably busy with Isabelle and Alec_. _But, of course, Magnus and Simon are there now, so..._

She pulled the 1973 folder back over to herself, throwing it open and taking out the pictures. In the first one, a younger Valentine (looking scarily like Jonathon) was posing next to Amalia. Behind them were the people who were obviously their parents, the both of them tall, with light colored hair and dark eyes. The woman had dark shadows under her eyes, and she seemed to be straining away from the tall, muscular man. Clary frowned, noting that fact in her notebook.

The next picture was of a younger Luke, with a younger Jace-looking man, and a girl was long dark hair and bright eyes. The younger Jace-looking man had his arm around the girl. The caption below read, _Luke Garroway, Stephen Herondale, and Amatis Garroway._ She studied the photo further before spotting something in the corner: a light haired girl crying as she looked at Stephen and Amatis. _That must be Celine._

She took a deep breath, and then got up, hurrying out the door after packing the folders into her shoulder bag.

Finally, after what seemed like a horribly long and tiring run, she got to the door of the Herondale house. She knocked on the door furiously, hoping to death that Jace wasn't home.

"Jace isn't here," Celine said coolly, answering the door. Relief thudded through her veins as Clary tried not to smile.

"I wanted to talk to you," Clary told her, trying not to seem as breathless as she honestly was.

Celine narrowed her hazel eyes at the shorter girl. "About what, may I ask?"

"Amatis Garroway."

Celine tried to shut the doorway at that, but Clary shoved her body in between the doorway and the actual door. "Please, Mrs. Herondale. I'm not accusing you of anything, but I need to talk to you. A little boy's life is at stake, along with who knows how many more!" When Celine didn't answer, she added, "And Jace might come home if you help me."

Celine thought about that for a while before she sighed, and opened the door for Clary to come in. She waved for her to follow her, and sit down in the living room. "Do you want anything to drink?" Clary shook her head, starting to open her mouth to ask her first question. Celine interrupted her by adding, "You must realize that people change with time-"

"Just let me ask the questions. I understand that people change." Celine nodded. "Did you know Amatis?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"She… we used to be friends when we were younger, before she started dating Stephen." She closed her eyes. "She knew that I liked him. Hell, I loved him, but she… she still dated him."

"Did you mention this to anyone?"

"Uh… possibly. I know that I wrote it in my diary."

"Could anyone have read that?"

Celine frowned. "I don't know. I kept it under my bed. Sometimes I brought it to school, but I always kept it in my bag."

Clary thought about this, and then turned in a different direction. "Who was in the Circle at that time?"

"Me, Amatis, Luke, Valentine, Michael, Jocelyn, Stephen, Maryse, Annamarie, Robert, and Samuel- he was Hodge's father." Clary wrote this down in her notebook.

"Where did your meetings happen?"

"Meetings?"

"Isn't the Circle like a club?"

"Oh, right. It's been a long time, Clary. I'm terribly sorry. I do believe that the meetings happened after school at people's houses."

"Ever at Valentine's?"

Celine nodded. "Not often, but sometimes."

"What happened there? Did you ever meet his father?"

"Yes, I think that I met him once or twice."

"And? What was he like?"

"He… was intense. We were over once and he shouted at Valentine in front of us because Valentine had gotten a 92% on his AP U.S. History test." Celine shook her head. "It was terrifying. I ran out of there because he was getting so worked up. I ended up in their backyard, talking to his little sister, the one that was killed. Amalia. She was adorable." Her hazel eyes saddened. "It's horrible what happened to her." Clary noted this.

"Do you think that Valentine's father could've forced him to kill her?"

Celine shook her head enthusiastically. "Oh no. She was his closest confidant. They were like two peas in a pod."

"But what about the phrase that was written in pebbles underneath her?" When Celine gave her a confused look, Clary took out the photo, sticking a post-it note over the body. She handed the photo to Celine, whose mouth opened slightly in shock. "I… I still… even though… Valentine wouldn't hurt Amalia."

"He killed his own son, Mrs. Herondale."

"Yes, but they only reminded him of his wife's betrayal!" _Who would marry him?_ Clary thought.

"But they were his own blood!"

"So was Amalia. I stand by my decision." She paused. "Why did you first think Valentine anyway?"

"How do you-"

"I hear things. It happens in a small town like Idris."

"We knew that it wasn't Jonathon, and… well… the server at the fancy restaurant was scared of who it was. I figured that it was Valentine because he was part of the police so the server would easily be found out. And, Seelie said that her sister Kaelie was cheating on Jace-" Celine gasped, her hand over her heart "-with someone close to him-"

"Oh! Valentine used to babysit Jace for us!"

"He did?" _Where are you going with this, Mrs. Herondale?_

"Yeah. After Amatis… I comforted Stephen because Valentine told me to, and he was the best man at our wedding, and he's Jace's godfather."

"Really? Jace never mentioned that."

Celine pursed her lips. "For obvious reasons, Clary. You do realize that you were accusing him and his family-"

"Thank you for your help, Mrs. Herondale," Clary said firmly, desperate to end this.

She stood up, and started to head out the door before Celine suddenly called, "Your mother always said that Valentine abused her. I never believed it, but… now… I'm not so sure." Clary turned around, shocked. Her _mother_ had married Valentine? "Tell her that I'm sorry, Clary." She nodded, unable to speak. "And tell Jace that I'm sorry also."

She stepped out the door, starting towards her house. Suddenly, a song broke through the silent darkness that had begun to enclose the surroundings. "_Feeling my way through the darkness. Guided by a beating heart_-" She threw open her flip phone (yes, she had a flip phone. No, she didn't care… much) to say hello to whoever was calling. _Please be Jace, please be Jace, please be_-

"Hey, Clary." IT WAS JACE! "I was wondering if you had any news on the guy they found."

Her heart deflated. "It was Ragnor."

"God, that's horrible."

"Yeah, I know-"

"Clary, I have to call you later, okay? Isabelle just broke down again, and she needs me." The phone line went dead, leaving Clary feeling more alone than ever. Taking a deep breath, she wrapped her arms around herself, walking towards her house.

But she soon found herself somewhere else, inside of a cemetery. She groaned, sitting down on a stone cold bench, and buried her face in her hands. What was going on? Why was this happening?

She heard a sob, and she lifted her head, the breeze drifting through her bright red curls. Kneeling at a grave stone was a white haired man.

"Jonathon?"

He looked behind himself to her. "Clary?"

"So you do know my name."

He stood up and walked over to her. "I know where he is."

She stiffened. "A-and where's that?"

He shook his head. "I'll meet you here tomorrow night, at ten p.m., and I'll only talk to you. I'm not going to talk to someone else." He drew in a shuddering breath. "Dad's rules. Not mine."

"But how do I-"

He put something in her hands. It was a box. She pulled off the top, dropping the box in surprise. It was a fluffy teddy bear with a note attached to it:

_I'll see you tomorrow, Clarissa._

_Don't be late._

_Or they'll die._

"THEY?!" She shrieked, looking up to ask Jonathon about it, but he wasn't there. She lifted the teddy bear out of the box gingerly. "Why the hell did he write they?!"

* * *

**Am I forgiven?**

**Probably not by Clary because of all the stuff I'm putting her through.**

**Man, if she knew me... she'd probably beat me up.**

**I'll try to update this weekend! But I'm not going to promise anything.**

**Until the next! Please review, follow, etc! It makes me a better writer!**


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